Clean Energy Projects
Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Contributions
John Grady (Glasgow East) (Lab)Labour
4. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support clean energy projects in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)Labour
The clean energy transition is a generational economic opportunity to reindustrialise Scotland, from the islands to the borders. Scotland is already a clean energy powerhouse, with the industry supporting 105,000 jobs and adding £10 billion to the Scottish economy. Last week, the Chancellor announced a new £2 billion energy wealth fund to further support the UK’s transition to low-carbon power. Berwick Bank is on course to be one of the largest windfarms in the world and is off the coast of Scotland.
Large clean energy projects and transmission project lines need planning consent from the Scottish Government. Delays mean that Scottish electricity consumers pay more. In a recent report, CBI Scotland says: “Planning is the concern business leaders across Scotland raise with us most consistently, and the frustrations they describe are…too much inconsistency, not enough speed” and a growing sense that planning has become a barrier to investment and growth—a responsibility of the Scottish Government. Does the Minister agree that the Scottish Government need to get a grip on the planning system?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why we have worked with the Scottish Government to make approving energy infrastructure in Scotland simpler. Those reforms are intended to help Scotland to realise our clean power ambitions while providing investors with greater confidence, yet we continue to hear from industry that the Scottish planning system is holding back growth. Planning is also the mechanism that the SNP uses to block new nuclear energy projects in Scotland, costing us up to 5,000 skilled jobs in the last decade alone.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)Liberal Democrat
The Minister saw for herself this summer the opportunities being developed around marine renewables in my constituency at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. Next month we will hopefully get the report from the taskforce commissioned by other Government Departments. Will the Minister engage with that and ensure that we get marine energy across the line and, as a consequence, win a home-grown supply chain in Scotland for her reindustrialisation policies?
I greatly enjoyed my visit to the right hon. Gentleman’s beautiful constituency. He is right about the opportunities that we have for clean power in Scotland, which our Government are already taking advantage of. I saw for myself what is happening in Orkney with tidal, wave and wind power, and I will pay significant attention to the report that he mentions.
Mr SpeakerSpeaker
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)Liberal Democrat
The SNP’s anti-nuclear position has already cost Scotland 5,000 jobs, as the Minister told Westminster Hall this month and has confirmed again this morning. What steps are the Government taking to bring the Scottish Government, industry and trade unions together so that new nuclear in Scotland finally gets the serious hearing that it deserves?
The hon. Lady is absolutely right about the opportunities for new nuclear energy in Scotland, and the SNP Scottish Government have to tell the Scottish people why they are standing in the way of them. The National Economic Council is meeting in Scotland this Friday, at which the Prime Minister and the First Minister will have a chance to discuss such matters. I hope the First Minister will take those opportunities.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)Scottish National Party
There is real fear in Scotland this morning that the Labour party is about to embark on another big betrayal of Scotland’s energy. After abandoning Grangemouth and costing thousands of energy jobs in Scotland, the UK Government now seem set on withdrawing funding for Scotland’s carbon capture industry. Will the Minister take this opportunity to quash that rumour?
The hon. Gentleman is doing what he does best, which is to fire up the grievance machine rather than look at all the enormous opportunities that could be coming to Scotland. Perhaps he could tell us what his own party’s policy is on Jackdaw and on energy. When will we see an energy strategy for Scotland? It has been more than five years, and we are still waiting.
I note that the Minister has failed to quash the rumours about Acorn, so let me try another imminent Labour party betrayal of Scotland’s energy. At a time when bills are set to be £1,000 higher than the Labour party promised, the Chancellor is inexplicably going to increase the unit price of gas. We know that families in Scotland will be disproportionately hit by the Labour party gas price increase. The Minister says that she and her colleague the Secretary of State are Scotland’s people in the Cabinet. What is she going to do to protect people from the Chancellor’s gas price rise?
Once again, a typical display from the hon. Gentleman—firing up the accusations of betrayal before he has even heard the Budget. I understand that he called for standing charges to be removed from gas bills some time ago, so I look forward to hearing him welcome some of the measures in the forthcoming Budget.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5427277.