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The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Sign of a bright energy future – but for whom?
I saw John Swinney visiting Eyemouth last week and singing the praises of the Neart na Gaoithe wind farm in the Firth of Forth. For sure, the First Minister was right, it is a wonder of engineering and a sign of a bright energy future. But for whom? Almost all the benefits are passing Scotland by, just as they did in the first great energy bounty, when oil was discovered in the North Sea. Oil's still there and still being drilled for, though not as much as it should be, and it's only weeks since the Grangemouth oil refinery closed. Of course, there's a nice shiny new office block on Eyemouth pier for NnG, as it is referred to. The jobs there are few but welcome all the same. But where's the real work going – and, more importantly, who owns and profits? READ MORE: Man arrested for 'carrying a placard calling Donald Trump an offensive word' NnG might lie between Lothians and Fife but ownership lies abroad and a clue's in the name. Neart na Gaoithe is Gaelic but the Irish version, the reason being that the wind farm is owned not just by EDF, the state energy company of France but also ESB, the Republic of Ireland's state electricity company. The Irish consul general told me it is the single biggest investment ESB has ever made outwith the island of Ireland. All this means that profits from the wonder Swinney saw are going to Paris and Dublin and not to Edinburgh. But it's far worse than that: not one turbine for it is being manufactured in Scotland, despite Methil being visible from it, never mind other ports and yards in Scotland being available which are crying out for work. Even if the excuse is a lack of capacity here in turbine manufacturing – which itself is lamentable and indicative of a shameful lack of an industrial strategy – what about other works such as subsea cabling, the laying of pipeline and the assembly of the units, along with the ship contracts? As with ownership, they've gone abroad, with firms from Italy, Belgium and far beyond winning out and Scotland languishing without. Even the jobs that are coming to Scotland are limited. Beyond the smaller vessels at Eyemouth, there was hope for work for maritime crews providing for the major construction and cabling work from Montrose. So thought a former constituent of mine who left the deep-sea tankers for a job closer to home. Within a few days he and the rest of the UK crew had been laid off and replaced by South Asian labour. When you're working beyond territorial waters – and that's where NnG lies – UK employment law doesn't apply. What a rip-off. And the NnG tragedy won't be alone as it's not the only Scottish offshore wind farm owned by foreign state companies; China, Norway, Sweden and the UAE also have sites. There's a double whammy here, and not just in the work and contracts being frittered away. When the ScotWind auction took place – under the auspices and control of the Scottish not UK Government – offshore sites were sold off for a song. The £800 million raised was trumpeted as a triumph by the then first minister Nicola Sturgeon. Yet within a matter of weeks that was shown to be a paltry sum. Less than 25% of what had been auctioned off in Scotland was sold in the US by New York State for a site off Long Island and for somewhere in the region of $4.3 billion. And believe me, the European energy market, of which Scotland is a critical part, is larger than the US's. But we were told all's well as we'd be getting the supply jobs. Well, where are they? A few jobs at Eyemouth and a few ribs going out of that port aren't what we were led to believe we'd get, and are probably less that Ireland will have from just NnG alone. What a waste and what a letdown. The Scottish tragedy is being repeated but when it was oil and gas we had no Parliament. Now we have Holyrood and, shamefully, it is being complicit as well as supine. Yes, energy is largely reserved but the ScotWind sell-off was wholly down to [[Holyrood]]. This is our great opportunity, as the First Minister said, but it has to actually happen, not just be empty rhetoric. While Swinney was at Eyemouth harbour, I was at the funeral of an independence stalwart and was reminded by the eulogy of his role in the anti-poll tax campaign. Back then, he and his compadre, who sat next to me in the chapel, painted 'Pay No Poll Tax' on the bridges along the M8. No easy task but much appreciated by many. Things should be better and easier for us now, but as well as failures there's been a dampening of the spirit. Radicalism, let alone political actions, have been decried, as shown over the genocide in Palestine. We need some competency in our Government, but we also require some fire back in our movement.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
The Big Tech Show: Price hikes for public EV charging, exploding tumble dryers and Trump's new ‘do what you want' AI reforms
JJ Clarke, producer, joins Adrian on this week's episode of The Big Tech Show. The cost of publicly charging an electric car is being increased by up to 15pc by Ireland's biggest provider. ESB cars, which has the most public charging points in the country, is adding 7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) across all of its tariffs, raising the cost of charging an electric car by up to €7. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Automotive
- BreakingNews.ie
ESB raises public EV charging prices with further increases likely in October
ESB's e-Cars electric car charging subsidiary has announced that it's increasing the cost of charging an electric car using public infrastructure by 7c per kWh on all of its plans. The semi-state company has said that the price increases come 'in response to sustained increases in operational costs and electricity network charges absorbed by ESB e-Cars in recent months. The new pricing supports continued investment in the public EV charging network and the rollout of high power chargers, ensuring a robust and future-ready EV charging infrastructure.' Advertisement It went on to say: 'ESB remains committed to offering service and value to its customers. The new prices will remain competitive in the marketplace, particularly for customers using fast and high-power chargers.' Those prices will likely rise again in October. Currently, public EV charging enjoys a reduced nine per cent VAT rate, but this is set to return to the standard 13.5 per cent VAT rate on October 31st this year. The price increases now mean that electric car users will pay 59c per kWh for slow 7-22kW AC charging, 64c per kWh for faster 50-150kW DC charging, and 66c per kWh for very fast DC charging above 150kW. Notably, you pay the same for each charging speed regardless of the actual charging power delivered to your car's battery on a given day, which is variable depending on the condition of the battery, the power that's actually reaching the charging point from the grid, and the local ambient temperature. Advertisement Those prices are for the 'Pay As You Go' plan, but they can be defrayed somewhat by signing up for the ESB's monthly subscription, which costs €4.79 per month. This brings down the cost of charging to 54c per kWh for slow chargers, 59c per kWh for fast chargers, and 61c per kWh for very fast chargers. These are not the most expensive prices for public charging. IONITY charges 73c per kWh, without a subscription, for its very fast 350kW chargers, but that can be reduced to just 53c per kWh with a €5.99 monthly subscription. The increase in ESB e-Car's charging costs means that EV drivers will pay more for each top-up. Taking the best-selling electric car of the moment, the VW ID.4, and assuming that it's the model with the 77kWh battery, it means that you will pay €40 for a 10-100 per cent top up from a slow kerbside charger, €34 for a 10-80 per cent charge from a fast charger, and €37 for a 10-80 per cent charge from a very fast charger. There has been no change to the 'overstay' fees, which penalises drivers who need to get a longer, fuller charge and which costs 50c per minute apply after 45 minutes of charge on fast and high power chargers, and after 10 hours of charge on standard charge points, up to a maximum penalty of €22.50. Advertisement The overstay fee has often been referred to as a tacit admission that there are not enough charging points in the country, as it encourages drivers to charge and move along, freeing up the charging point. The increase in prices for public charging comes at a time of fraught debate about those without access to off-street parking where they can install a home charging point. The best current night time rate for electricity stands at 7c per kWh, albeit this is usually only available for around four hours at times of minimal demand on the network. Dublin City Council (DCC) has come in for criticism of late for forcing homeowners with no off-street parking to remove 'charging arms' which guide charging cables up and over pedestrian's heads for kerbside charging. DCC has consistently refused to reply to queries as to its official policy when it comes to providing solutions for those who want to switch to electric motoring but who don't have off-street parking. Advertisement Cork City Council, however, did reply to such questions, stating that: 'It is planned to roll out the planned electric vehicle charging infrastructure on a phased basis in line with the projected growth in electric vehicles on our roads. It is likely the first tranche of infrastructure will be in place in 2026. The strategy does not make provision to allow private electric vehicle charging cables either in pavement or overhead to be installed across public footpaths or roads to facilitate home charging.'
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
ESB hikes prices on EV charging by up to 15pc, with some drivers paying €7 more per charge
The price rises on Ireland's biggest public charging network for electric cars means that the cost of fully charging some EVs will now rise above €60, making it more expensive than petrol or diesel for a similar driving range The cost of publicly charging an electric car is being increased by up to 15pc by Ireland's biggest provider. ESB cars, which has the most public charging points in the country, is adding 7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) across all of its tariffs, raising the cost of charging an electric car by up to €7.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
ESB hikes prices on EV charging by up to 15pc, with some paying €7 more per charge
The price rises on Ireland's biggest public charging network for electric cars means that the cost of fully charging some EVs will now rise above €60, making it more expensive than petrol or diesel for a similar driving range The cost of publicly charging an electric car is being hiked by up to 15pc by Ireland's biggest provider. ESB cars, which has the most public charging points in the country, is adding 7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) across all of its tariffs, adding as much as €7 to the cost of charging an electric car.
