Phasing Out Nuclear Power Will Fuel Blackouts and Unrest, Says Energy Expert

Jun 13 - Scotland on Sunday

THE senior civil servant who headed renewable energy policy in Scotland for 10 years is forecasting "social and political unrest" unless nuclear power stations are retained and even upgraded to provide back-up to wind farms.

Blair Armstrong, who ran Scottish Enterprise's Power Generation and Renewable Energy division until he retired in January this year, believes energy companies will struggle to meet a government target of providing 40 per cent of Scotland's electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020.

But with the country's nuclear power stations due to be phased out, there is now a serious threat of power cuts within the next decade, he warned.

Politicians now had to make a "hard decision" on whether to risk power failures or keep nuclear plants open.

"Although I am a total convert and supporter of renewable energy, I am also a realist," he said. "While the renewable energy industry is moving heaven and earth to meet their targets in the timescale, I feel we will still need a back-up in the short term."

The only option, Armstrong argues, is to keep open the nuclear power plants which currently provide 42 per cent of Scotland's electricity.

"It is hard for a committed renewable energy specialist to say that, but that option is preferable to the risk of major power failures and the inevitability of social and political unrest that could follow due to the loss of electricity.

"The long-term future for renewables is good but it is the 30- year short term that we have to think about."

Armstrong's comments cut across the energy policies of the Labour- Lib Dem Scottish Executive, which is still firmly supporting the phasing out of nuclear power.

But the Executive's plans to replace nuclear power with alternatives, predominantly onshore wind farms, is being hampered by growing protests throughout the country over the siting of wind farm turbines in scenic areas.

Several major schemes - in the Outer Hebrides and the Highlands - are already facing years of slow progress through the planning system because of opposition from official government bodies, environmental charities and local campaign groups.

Although one offshore wind farm, to be sited in the Solway Firth, has gained planning permission, Scottish waters are generally considered to be too deep and too rough for a major expansion of the technology.

And despite the development of other forms of renewables, such as wave and tidal power, these have not yet reached the stage where they can make a significant contribution to energy requirements.

Armstrong believes politicians will face a severe public backlash if power shortages occur. "If the power goes down, our computers will fail, our hospitals will be damaged and there will be social unrest," he said.

"Governments dare not allow that to happen, so they have to take action now. The time for debating these matters should be past."

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