Alex Salmond MP

Mr Salmond said:

"I am delighted to be here this morning at one of Scotland's growing number of world-leading green energy technology companies.

"Renewable Devices Swift Turbines is among a crop of companies who are showing the way forward for our country, with technology that not only has hit the headlines world-wide, but has the capacity to change Scotland and the world for the better.

"I think it is a mark of this company's success that you have been prominent not only in Newsweek magazine, but also and perhaps more importantly, in the financial news, with the excellent product we have seen today, described as 'the world's first feasible rooftop-mountable wind energy system'.

"Today, I want to talk about what is possible for Scotland as we enter a new and pressing period for energy production and use.

"I have no doubt that the decisions we take now will decide whether we are world-leaders or also rans; whether we move forward into a new era of clean technology €" with all the benefits in terms of jobs and exports that can bring €" or slip back to the past with a return to dangerous, dirty and expensive nuclear power.

"Energy is Scotland's opportunity and Scotland's challenge. That is why we must, as a nation, be energy wise and make decisions that will benefit us today and for the long-term, decisions that our children and their children can be proud of.

"The bottom line is that I want a future Scotland with renewable generation in our communities not nuclear waste convoys on our roads. And that means a Scotland today that invests in our strengths and our potential €" community and offshore wind, bio-mass, hydro, tidal, wave and solar power.

"Protecting our environment is important for Scotland; important for us all. I know from my own corner of the country how Scotland's image as a clean and open environment is an essential marketing advantage for our food producers. It is a key selling point for our tourism sector. And it is vital if we are to protect and enhance our health and overall quality of life.

"Our environmental ambitions are integral to a better future for Scotland. It means improved economic prospects through new skills, more jobs, and an increasingly efficient and extensive public transport infrastructure.

"That's why building a greener future for Scotland is central to success. We need to take a principled stand, because it's what Scotland needs - for our environment, for our economy, for our wellbeing.

"Next week, the SNP will publish the Scottish Energy Review, undertaken on our behalf by some of the leading figures in the energy sector in Scotland. I would like to thank Professor Stephen Salter and his team for their tremendous efforts and for the ambition and insight shown in their report.

"In particular, they deserve our thanks for tackling head on the issue of nuclear power and exposing the myths that have been peddled by the nuclear lobby and a Prime Minister whose judgement has failed him and us on far too many occasions.

"Is nuclear safe? No. Not safe enough. From Windscale to Dounreay, we have seen at least one major incident at a nuclear power plant each and every decade.

"Is nuclear cheap? No. Not as cheap as the renewable alternatives. With clean up costs running at £90 billion on the latest estimates and billions invested on nuclear research and on construction, nuclear is a never ending financial liability. It is a millstone round the necks of future Scots.

"Is nuclear carbon free? No. The nuclear fuel, uranium, can only be recovered from an extensive mining and industrial process. And that produces CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

"With a rush to nuclear, and the ore becomes more difficult to find and extract, we can expect to see, within the lifetime of the nuclear plants now proposed by Tony Blair, CO2 output from the whole nuclear process equalling the amount released from gas turbine generators producing the same energy.

"That is worth repeating. As the report states, carbon release 'is likely to rise very fast within the lifetime of plant planned now to become equal to the carbon released from gas-fired plant of the same electrical output but lower cost.'

"To take the nuclear path is madness. It is the energy equivalent of passing the buck. Not only will we leave our children the legacy of thousands of tonnes of nuclear waste, but with the added problem of fast growing CO2 emissions. Tony Blair's short-term solution becomes Scotland's long-term environmental nightmare. It is taking Scotland down the wrong path.

"As First Minister, next year, I will make it clear to the UK government that Scotland does not want a new nuclear power station. A real Scottish government will vigorously oppose any plans for our country to become Britain's nuclear dustbin.

"It is astonishing that McConnell can't take a position on the issue of nuclear power. It is high time he made a decision.

"Under my leadership, Scotland will not take a step backwards to the nuclear age, but will instead take strides to become the pre-eminent location for clean energy research, development and delivery in Europe.

"This has to be a government and nation wide commitment. That's why, following the evidence received as part of the SNP's Scottish Energy Review, an SNP Government will now consult on increasing our targets for the percentage of electricity produced by renewable power and on introducing targets for all energy use, including green energy use in the home and in transport.

"And, as part of our determination to deliver total growth for Scotland we have set a C02 reduction target of 2 per cent a year €" a more ambitious target than the one currently set by Scotland's Labour and Lib Dem Government. But we must aim higher and look where possible to build on this commitment.

"The Scottish Executive proposes 40 per cent of electricity should come from renewable sources by 2020. If we can do more, we should. In government, the SNP will look to increase this target to 50 per cent and beyond.

"I mentioned earlier the success Scottish companies are already enjoying. We have companies and projects with the potential to become the Nokia or Microsoft of renewable energy.

"In my own constituency in the North East, Scottish and Southern and BP are moving apace in the planning of the world's first carbon capture and storage hydrogen power station.

"This project is at a crucial phase and with the right support from government it could, by the end of the decade, become a beacon project - the first of a new generation of power stations able to deliver energy from hydrocarbons that is essentially carbon free.

"Make no mistake, this is a transformation project for Peterhead, for Scotland and for the world economy.

"In the west of Scotland, at Mitsui Babcock, we have another world leader in low carbon technology, with a new generation of coal fired generators.

"And in Edinburgh, Ocean Power Delivery is in the process of delivering wave energy solutions €" to Portugal rather than Scotland at this stage.

"These companies, and others, including Renewable Devices and SiGEN in Aberdeen, offer Scotland a first foothold in these emerging technologies. They are opening the door to an opportunity Scotland as a nation would be foolish to miss.

"The scale of the challenge facing Scotland, if we are to turn our lead at the first corner into success at the end of this technology race, is shown by the commitment now being made elsewhere.

"And remember the prize is not only low cost, clean energy, but well-paid, high skill jobs, in all parts of our country.

"It was recently announced that Norway is to set up a fund to support and strengthen their nation's efforts in renewable energy and energy efficiency. With investment of £800 million this year and next, the fund will yield an estimated £70 million a year, every year, to support increased production and use of bio energy, wind power, small-scale hydro-power and increased energy efficiency.

"With this fund as a springboard, Norwegian companies will be given a significant edge as they try to leapfrog Scotland in these crucial future markets.

"Scotland must respond or we will fail once again to maximise the benefit from our energy windfall.

"Scotland should be at the forefront of Europe's green energy revolution. That is why I will make the creation of an EU-wide Renewable and Clean Carbon Energy Research Centre, based in Scotland, a central focus for an SNP led Scottish government.

"Aberdeen, with its expertise and experience in offshore technologies, would be the ideal location for such a centre.

"In the first 100 days of an SNP government, Scottish ministers will begin a series of meetings with the Commission, the UK government and with our partners and friends across the continent to deliver this ambitious project for our nation.

"The creation of this new research centre can help keep Scotland to the fore in these technologies, but we must also develop new ways of supporting our innovators and turning expertise and research into successful, market leading products.

"As First Minister I want to see Scotland take the lead in providing the engineering solutions that allow for the full exploitation of these clean energy sources.

"We must think big about what is possible with small, targeted sums of money. Scotland's innovations have been key to much of our economic success in the past, and there are still examples of Scots at home and abroad carrying on this tradition.

"We have looked at the lessons of the $10 million X prize, which opened the door to commercial space travel, and the $50K MIT challenge, which has spawned hundreds of successful small businesses, and propose the creation of a specific incentive for green energy innovation.

"I will therefore establish the first £5 million Saltire prize with a challenge to Scottish and international scientists to design and develop the answers we need to take forward wind, wave and tidal technologies and deliver workable commercial scale generators €" for our communities or around our shores.

"We have a shared responsibility to make the right decisions; the choices that will deliver the best future for ourselves, our families and our communities.

"And while decisions on big plant generation and investment are crucial, they are only part of the picture. We each have a responsibility in our own homes and communities.

"The Scottish Executive has made a small start in supporting community and home micro-generation schemes €" but there is plenty of opportunity to do more.

"The SNP is currently looking at ways we can put renewable generation into the heart of every Scottish community. But, as a bottom line, we must as a government, actively promote take up by local organisations of community scale heat exchange, wind and hydro projects.

"From wind turbines on the scout hut to solar heating on the church roof, the opportunity is there to be seized. If we have the ambition.

"We all have a part to play in meeting the challenge of global warming, and Scotland is fortunate in that we have an abundance of green energy potential.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Scotland can become a beacon nation for renewable and clean carbon technology.

"We have a once in a generation opportunity to move away from the mistakes of the past and to put Scotland at the forefront of the green energy revolution.

"We have the technical expertise €" as we see here today - now all we need is the determination to succeed and the leadership to deliver."

ENDS