Commenting on the First Minister’s announcement of 1.2GW of marine energy development in Pentland Firth and Orkney waters, Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary said:
“The STUC enthusiastically welcomes the announcement of these milestone wave and tidal developments which represent tangible progress towards a low carbon Scottish economy.
“The next and most important challenge is to ensure that the fragile Caithness and Orkney economies are able to maximise the economic and employment opportunities presented by these developments. With the rundown of Dounreay, the challenges in Caithness are particularly acute. It is essential that the skills and infrastructure are in place to facilitate quality, sustainable local job creation in research, manufacturing, deployment, operations and maintenance.
“The Scottish Government should examine ways in which local job creation becomes a condition of planning consent in renewables projects”.
Contact
Stephen Boyd 0141 337 8100
