Our Hydro-Nation

As a nation with an extensive coastline and frequent rainfall, water is something that we can at times all take for granted. Yet not only is it one of the fundamental requirements of life, it is also a significant and growing source of the electricity we all use.

Scotland of course has a long history of generating power through hydro-electric projects, using the resources our landscape offers us to good effect. However, it is off our shores in the form of marine renewables that much of our power will be drawn in future years. Scotland is home to 25% of Europe’s potential offshore wind and tidal resources and 10% of Europe’s potential wave resources and there is huge economic potential for our country waiting to be unlocked.

This will have a significant impact on Banffshire & Buchan Coast, with Peterhead having been identified as one of the key sites for the improved infrastructure that will be needed to harness this potential. The significant sum of £70 million has been earmarked for making infrastructure improvements in places like Peterhead that have been identified as key sites, and the first funding award from this National Renewables Infrastructure Fund has now been made.

Improved infrastructure at Peterhead will bring more jobs to the area and will represent a significant economic boost to the whole of Banffshire & Buchan Coast. We have a long history of making a living from the waters off our shores and these plans mean that will continue for many years to come.

Yet while Scotland may be blessed by the quantity and potential offered to us by water, other countries around the world are not so fortunate. One in eight of the world’s population do not have access to clean water and a staggering 2.5 billion people live without basic sanitation. It is a problem that is only due to get worse as climate change and expanding populations expected to lead to a 30% increase in the demand for fresh water over the next 20 years.

As well as taking a world leading position on tackling climate change, Scotland has a wealth of expertise to share with the world in managing water resources. The Scottish Government is determined that we should make use of that expertise to help share our knowledge and technology with people around the world.

That is why international experts from around the world recently came together in Glasgow for the Global Water Scarcity Conference. As a Hydro-Nation we have an important role to play and I am proud that Scotland is stepping up to the challenge of helping to improve the way that other countries manage their water resources.

Warnings must be heeded

The need for the UK Government to put aside its stubborn refusal to take action necessary to get the economy growing again has been put into sharp focus with the International Monetary Fund calling on the Chancellor to change course. The IMF is the latest voice warning that a lack of growth will cripple any prospect of economic recovery and that action needs to be taken now.

The Scottish Government provided details of £300 million of shovel ready projects that could be immediately launched to boost growth in Scotland if funding was made available, but despite the Prime Minister having requested this list it was subsequently ignored in the budget.

That was a grave mistake and economic stimulus is needed more than ever to create jobs and boost demand in the economy. The UK Government is acting as a barrier to that growth and must heed the warnings before it is too late.