17/12/2025
The SNP (not the Scottish Government) released a paper titled "It's Scotland's Energy" earlier this month. You can download it here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jYhA0rRzv7DdxFACaJ3bwRj6idwDsmkE/view
Other commentators have posted their views on the report.
On the one hand, it is encouraging to see the SNP discuss how the energy (electricity and natural gas) market would differ in an independent Scotland. There is a focus on reducing bills for businesses and households 👍 and on increasing renewable generation, while clearly shifting away from nuclear 👍👍
It is also good to see the use of 'just transition' again, which has been lacking in recent narratives.
The paper spends some time explaining and demonstrating how terribly the current system - operated from Westminster - affects households and businesses with electricity charges both high and constantly shifting. This, as we all know, is terrible when you are trying to a. pay or b. have a workable budget that you can rely on.
There is no denying that the current system in the UK is terrible for everyone EXCEPT electricity generators.
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The key point I want to highlight is that Scotland's success in renewable energy has been driven mainly by current UK policies that heavily support companies producing renewable energy. The profit is what attracts them to the UK! They make a profit by charging higher prices. As soon as you lower the price (and increase the % that companies are supposed to give to local communities), foreign companies will invest in renewables elsewhere. So... the more successful you are at lowering bills, the less renewable supply you have.
This is a simplification, but I hope it helps explain my main concern with this paper (and the SNP/Scottish Government's overall economic approach):
Once again, they are looking only to market solutions. There is no mention of a Scottish Energy Company that will generate and distribute electricity or natural gas.
As electricity expert Brett Christophers (author of The Price is Wrong) told me in 2024, unless you have the state as a serious player in the energy market, you will be unable to dictate or even heavily influence energy prices.
The plan is to lower prices for consumers, while continuing to encourage foreign investors to come into Scotland and generate electricity, which increases their costs. You can probably see why this makes little sense.
We once again see that foreign direct investment (FDI) is the perceived solution for this administration. But £11.5 billion leaks out of the Scottish economy every year! By encouraging more FDI, we increase these flows, and the stock of wealth that generates them is also in foreign hands.
In conclusion. Yes, independence allows Scotland to make better decisions, and specifically with energy, the UK has royally buggered that up over the last forty years. But if Scotland seeks the same solutions in the market system that dominates in the UK, we will end up with the same results. The proposal is not radical enough because it is framed within a neoliberal understanding of the economy, which requires us to bow down to markets and international capital.
There is an alternative. A Scottish Owned Energy company that distributes 100% community generated or locally owned renewable electricity. A company that is designed to make no profit. Instead, it uses public money to deliver massive emission reductions, a just transition, and the lowest electricity bills across Europe. And that is perfectly achievable.
All we need is for the administration to drop its fascination with markets and FDI.
