New energy fears as power station axed

Country faces growing battle to keep the lights on

SCOTLAND faces a growi ng battle to keep the lights on when the last coal-fired power station closes next year.

Scottish Power has confirmed Longannet will shut in March, and also said it is abandoning plans to build a new gas-fired power station at Cockenzie in East Lothian.

The announcements increase pressure on the SNP to rethink its obsession with renewables and pursue a more balanced energy mix.

The Scottish Government has refused to build new nuclear power plants, with Torness and Hunterston both scheduled to close by 2023, and has imposed a moratorium on fracking. With the UK Government putting the brakes on new wind farm developments in recent months, Scotland looks set to become an energy importer, reliant on English power stations.

Murdo Fraser MSP, Scots Tory energy spokesman, said: ‘ This represents a serious blow to Fife and the wider Scottish economy.

‘Two nuclear power plants at Torness and Hunterston are due to close by 2023, which means we will have lost 55 per cent of our electricity generating capacity within eight years.

‘The Scottish Government has no idea how to make up that gap, which will leave us increasingly reliant on energy imports from England.’

The Scottish Trades Union Congress ( STUC) said the closure of Longannet will be devastating for the workforce and the Fife economy.

The power station employs around 230 people, but an estimated 2,000 j obs could go because of the impact on the wider supply chain.

Neil Clitheroe, chief executive of retail and generation at Scottish Power, said it was ‘a sad day’.He added: ‘We have explored every potential option to keep the station open, and we still maintain that Longannet could continue generation in to the next decade under the right economic conditions,’ he added.

Grahame Smith, STUC general secretary, said: ‘Longannet’s closure sends another powerful message that energy policy con- tinues to fail to address the security of supply imperative.

‘Scotland’s position as a net exporter of energy is increasingly threatened.

‘The resilience of Scotland and the UK’s supply network is likely to be seriously tested over the coming years and, by providing reliable, flexible supply, Longannet will again play a crucial role in keeping the lights on this winter. Replacing this capacity after spring now becomes a critical question for Scottish and UK Governments.’

ScottishPower admitted in March that it would probably close Longannet as i t costs £40million a year to connect to the National Grid – ten times more than some English power stations – because it is further away from urban areas.

The SNP blamed the National Grid’s transmission charging regime, which made it more expensive, and UK energy policies.

Douglas Chapman, Nationalist MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, said: ‘The key threat to Longannet’s future has always been the UK’s energy policies. We urgently need a fair and level playing field with the rest of the UK and the current transmission charging regime is far from that.’

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: ‘The Scottish Government and its agencies will do everything possible to support the staff who will be affected by this announcement.’

‘Increasingly threatened’