Western Isles council SNP Group have expressed disappointment over comments made at the Point and Sandwick Trust's Annual General Meeting held last month. It is understood that the Chairperson, Angus Mccormack spoke of his hope for a deal between the French multi-national company EDF, Stornoway Trust and local Crofters for a lease agreement to enable EDF to build a large-scale Windfarm on Point and Sandwick's common grazings.
SNP Group leader, councillor Gordon Murray stated:
"it is very disappointing to hear that Point and Sandwick Trust is advocating a deal with a large multi-national rather than securing full community ownership of any development. The SNP Group have been consistently arguing that every household in the Western Isles should benefit from the swathes of renewable energy available across our Islands.
Why is it that those elected by the people, as custodians of our resources, are so eager to help those multinationals in their pursuit of profit?
We will always put local families first. One in four households across our Islands is experiencing fuel poverty. It is disgraceful that we are still paying such high energy costs and at the same time selling off our assets for such relatively poor returns when compared with the profits that these companies are and will be making.
It is totally wrong to think that this is community ownership. In effect, the developer of these installations will be generating relatively modest community benefit payments whilst they control and own our wind assets for the full term of any lease.
The Scottish Government intends setting up a Scottish publicly owned energy company. In advance of this, our community landlords should be working with the Comhairle and others to establish an Energy Supply Company (ESCo) that would ensure public ownership and the development of these assets to ensure low cost power to all communities. Instead. our assets are being sold off to companies that offer short-termism, rather than long term economic benefit for all Islanders.
This and other ‘major’ developments will fundamentally change our landscape, our culture and our environment for generations to come but they will not be held accountable by us or to us – merely their share-holders. Stornoway Trust and Point and Sandwick Trust are deluding themselves and our local communities if they think otherwise.
