YOUR columnist Pinstripe may be a supporter of ever increasing subsidies to the renewable energy sector (“Time for Salmond to bring Cameron into line on vital role of renewable energy”, The Herald, December 28), but what he does not mention is the fact that there was no mention of the cost of these regressive green levies imposed on energy consumers in Alex Salmond's Referendum White Paper.
In addition, Pinstripe made no mention of the fact that 92 per cent of these regressive subsidies are paid by English and Welsh consumers. He also failed to mention that had Scotland voted Yes in 2014 then these arrangements would have been declared illegal under European regulations, as pointed out by former MP Brian Wilson.
Pinstripe also failed to state that the well-off, the wealthy and the rich could previously mitigate the costs of these regressive levies by installing solar panels, biomass units or wind turbines to receive massive pay-outs from the Feed-in Tariff scheme, the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme or the Renewables Obligation Certificates scheme. The only group who pay into the regressive levies and receive nothing in return are the 35 per cent of Scots living in fuel poverty, but at least they are now shielded from further increases by the cuts to the renewable sector subsidies.
Again Pinstripe fails to point out that not a single MSP or Scottish MP has supported the campaign by Michael Riley of Scottish Renewables to scrap these regressive green levies and use their new powers to transfer the subsidy bill to the tax-payer. Nor does Pinstripe state the size of the subsidy bill. Well, in an Agenda article of April 12, 2014, Ms Jenny Hogan of Scottish Renewables stated that the sector received £2 billion in subsidies whilst generating 12 per cent of Scottish demand. Scaling up to 100 per cent of demand gives a subsidy bill of £16 billion and all largely to be paid by those in fuel poverty.
What Pinstripe failed to was whether any political party at Holyrood will include the aims set put by Mr Riley in its manifesto for the 2016 election or whether regressive renewable subsidies remain a burden for those in fuel poverty.
Ian Moir,
79 Queen Street,
Castle Douglas.
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