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11th February 2008
North East Should Lead Micro Renewable Revolution Says
Johnstone
 North
East MSP Alex Johnstone is calling for greater use of
domestic micro renewable energy sources such as solar panels
and biomass.
Mr Johnstone said "It is ironic that much of
the research work into micro renewables is done in Scotland,
yet we are far behind other areas in producing our own
energy. What makes this worse is the fact that areas such as
the Mearns are ideal locations for harnessing energy using
wind, solar and even micro hydro systems from nearby burns."
"Traditional homes in the north east that
are remote and often difficult to heat benefit enormously
from domestic biomass systems, yet there seems little
encouragement from the Government to promote the
installation of these systems. People who would otherwise be
keen to invest are put off by the planning system and lack
of information available."
In response to two written questions to the
Scottish Government, the Minister for Enterprise Energy and
Tourism informed Mr Johnstone that there has been a
significant increase in funding for this type of scheme in
this years budget but householders can still only apply for
funding of micro renewable measures at 30% of the installed
cost, to a maximum of £4000.
Mr Johnstone added "I welcome this funding,
but the fact remains that much more could be done to promote
these systems and demonstrate to people that it is the way
forward. What the Minister does not mention is that we are
not yet providing adequate training for people who would
service or repair these kinds of systems. If the Mearns is
to achieve its full potential in harvesting this resource
then we have to make it more available and reassure people
that the technical expertise in repairing a faulty system is
close at hand."
Concluding, Mr Johnstone said "At a time of
soaring energy bills, which will bring with it more fuel
poverty, it makes sense to popularise micro renewable energy
and bring it into the reaches of everyone, rather than
having it identified as a middle class status symbol that
many see it as today. We need to do more work on this, and
investment now will bring greater returns in the future."
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