Pro-renewables roadshow tours Scotland

A four-month promotional roadshow for the advantages of renewable energy is underway in Scotland.

Entitled It’s Only Natural, the tour began in Inverness and is primarily intended to encourage public support for ‘green’ energy and quell opposition to installations such as wind turbines.

The deputy enterprise minister, Allan Wilson, said renewable energy had a crucial role to play in combating the effects of climate change while benefiting the economy. He said this was why the Scottish Executive had set a target for 18% of Scotland’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2010 and 40% by 2020.

Wilson said: “We are committed to achieving our targets through a range of renewable technologies – on and off-shore wind, biomass, wave and tidal and micro renewables.

“However, it’s also vital to ensure that the public are fully aware of all the issues that surround these policies – the benefits that more renewable energy will bring and how a potential project can impact on your area.

“The 2003 study Public Attitudes to Windfarms has shown that the public are broadly in favour of renewable energy. We absolutely welcome a debate, but it must be an informed debate.”