NFU Scotland calls on Authorities to assist farms change into extra vitality unbiased

Posted on Might 11, 2023

NFU Scotland has used a current two-day vitality occasion in Glasgow to name for the Scottish Authorities’s Power Technique to assist Scotland’s farms and crofts to assist them change into extra vitality unbiased and to allow a transition to a extra resilient vitality future.

Kate Hopper spoke on the All-Power Exhibition and Convention in Glasgow.

The Scottish Authorities session on its Power Technique and Simply Transition Plan set out actions to assist the transition to a greener and fairer vitality system for Scotland.

NFU Scotland say that as Scotland’s farmers and crofters are each a big shopper and rising producer of vitality, its personal response has mapped out the clear actions it needs to see carried out to explicitly assist the continuing contribution which farms and crofts could make within the transition to a inexperienced vitality system.

In its submission, which was submitted on ninth Might, NFU Scotland needs to see a finalised Power Technique which:

Helps vitality resilience for Scottish agriculture and the broader meals chain by rising the manufacturing of vitality on farms and crofts, decoupling our reliance on the present unfair vitality system to guard meals safety.
Helps farms and crofts to decarbonise, by setting out the popular choices to cut back our dependency on purple diesel and different fossil fuels used on farm as we transfer to greener fuels.
Removes the boundaries to on-farm inexperienced vitality manufacturing, resembling grid blocking, delays within the planning system and the numerous prices of connections to the grid.
Recognises and rewards the contribution that farms and crofts are making in transition to a inexperienced vitality system for Scotland by means of carbon foot printing and the brand new Agriculture Invoice and future assist system.

Talking on the All-Power Exhibition and Convention in Glasgow yesterday (tenth Might), NFU Scotland’s Local weather Change Coverage Supervisor Kate Hopper stated: “NFUS is asking for the finalised technique, over the subsequent 5 years, to explicitly assist the continuing contribution which farms and crofts could make within the transition to a inexperienced vitality system.

“Scottish Authorities should set out assist for Scotland’s farms and crofts not solely to decarbonise, but in addition to change into vitality unbiased. Defending meals and different crop manufacturing from vitality value shocks and maximising the manufacturing of home-grown clear vitality provision should be a key goal of the Power Technique.”

She added: “Scottish Authorities should champion on-farm vitality as an important a part of the nationwide vitality community and our future vitality combine. It should additionally recognise that Scottish agriculture and its wider foods and drinks provide chain has been uncovered to the results of worldwide vitality value shocks.

“Agricultural companies have confronted unprecedented will increase in electrical energy and different enter prices that are threatening to make manufacturing unviable. The shortage of management inside our vitality system is severely affecting the resilience of our sector and is impacting throughout the broader provide chain.

“As we transition to a brand new inexperienced vitality system it’s important that we are able to decouple our farms and crofts from the present, unfair vitality system.”