Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-15698

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the renewable energy industry by continuing to purchase 100% of its electricity from renewable sources.

The Scottish Government is already providing a tremendous incentive for the renewables industry to build new renewable generating capacity via our renewables obligation on all Scottish electricity suppliers. Recent information has highlighted that renewable or green electricity tariffs for renewable electricity do not lead necessarily to the production of additional electricity from renewable sources.

Rather than paying what is likely to be a significant price premium for green electricity within the current tight financial settlement, the Scottish Government will divert resources towards energy management measures for its own estate, which will help protect the environment while reducing costs in the medium term via reduced electricity consumption.

Question reference: S3W-15737

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how high a percentage of electricity supply from renewable sources a bidder will need to offer in order to be considered for the contract currently out to tender for the supply of electricity to the public sector.

Question reference: S3W-15705

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its reference to “small scale renewables initiatives and opportunities to sell electricity into the grid”, in its news release of 18 August 2008, means that it will ensure that the SNP manifesto commitment that all public buildings benefit from renewable energy is delivered.

Progress is being made on realising the renewable capability across the public sector in a number of ways:

Through the Scottish Government''s Leading By Example programme we are ensuring all parts of the public sector play an exemplary role in pioneering new greener behaviours. Generating more sustainable low carbon energy through renewables is an important element of the programme;

We have extended the public sector fund to allow it to be used to support renewable technologies as well as energy efficiency;

We have tripled funding for community and microgeneration, with £13.5 million available each year compared to the previous administration''s £4.5 million;

We are more actively promoting the UK Government''s Low Carbon Building Programme which provides grants to the public sector for renewable technologies, and

We are introducing dedicated School Development Officers to support the deployment of renewable technologies in schools.

The national contract arrangements will help facilitate the development of renewable generation by ensuring appropriate tariffs are set for surplus electricity generated by public sector bodies fed back into the national grid, and thus support business cases for the installation of such technologies.

Question reference: S3W-15708

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive to clarify what it means by “The contract will provide public bodies with access to energy management measures” in its news release of 18 August 2008 and whether it means consultancy, or retrofitting, provided free of charge across every public sector building.

The tender for the national contract has requested details from prospective suppliers for the energy management measures which they could provide to support the Scottish public sector. Examples given in the invitation to tender are:

Access to energy management information

On-line energy management tools

Energy efficiency audits

Site assessment for suitability of embedded generation.

Further clarification on what these measures could include will impact on the tender and subsequent evaluation processes. It is therefore inappropriate to comment further at this point in time.

Question reference: S3W-15706

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific energy reduction targets are set out in the tender for the supply of electricity to the public sector and how they will be (a) monitored and (b) achieved.

Question reference: S3W-15702

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive why the supply of a portion of green energy was last in the list of objectives in the request for information from prospective electricity suppliers.

Question reference: S3W-15710

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 10 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been carried out to ascertain what financial difference will be made by not specifying the requirement for 100% renewable energy in the contract currently out for tender for supply of electricity to the public sector as compared with its current electricity supply contract.

Question reference: S3W-15712

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct an assessment of the resilience of the transport networks to heavy or prolonged rainfall and what the timescale and funding will be for such an assessment.

In June 2005, the Scottish Government published the Scottish Road Network Climate Change Study. This examined the potential impact of future predicted climate conditions on the operation of the Scottish road network. Rainfall was one of the six broad categories of weather considered in the study. Transport Scotland is implementing the recommendations from the study, including changes to the design standard for surface drainage systems, which has now been modified to account for a 20% increase in rainfall intensity.

As the owner of Great Britain''s rail infrastructure, Network Rail is responsible for ensuring the continued resilience of the Scottish rail network.

Question reference: S3W-15715

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide sufficient revenue to fund the increasing maintenance required in the transport networks to cope with heavy or prolonged rainfall.

Question reference: S3W-15711

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 8 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) steps it is taking and (b) funding it is providing to map and address pluvial flooding.

Tell us your views

Seòmar agus comataidhean