A prominent economist has accused the Scottish Government and Scottish Power of letting the country down over the likely closure of Longannet Power Station.
Tony Mackay said they should have started planning many years ago for a gas-fired power station to take over from Scotland’s only coal-fired station near Kincardine-on-Forth.
He predicted Longannet’s closure would leave a gap in home production to meet Scotland’s energy needs which could be met only by importing electricity from England.
The facility is likely to close next year with the loss of up to 1,000 jobs as a result of owners Scottish Power’s failure to win a crucial £15 million contract from the National Grid.
A meeting will be held on May 20 between Fife Council, Scottish Government minister Fergus Ewing and Scottish Power to try to shield the economy of Fife and central Scotland from the impact.
Options for saving the plant will be discussed, and the meeting will look at how to lessen the blow for employees, plant suppliers and the local and wider economy.
Longannet is the largest power station in Scotland, producing about 15% of the country’s electricity capacity, but has been operating much longer than its expected 30-year lifespan.
Mr Mackay said windfarms would be unable to fill the capacity gap left by Longannet’s demise.
He said the most sensible option is a gas-fired power station which, if built at Longannet, would boost the local economy.
“Planning for such a replacement power station should have begun many years ago,” Mr Mackay said.
“I believe that the Scottish Government and Scottish Power have let us down by not doing that planning.”
In the short term, he said power would have to be imported from England during peak demand or when windfarms could not generate sufficient output.