Recommendation 2

The risk of undermining confidence in the transition is especially acute for those Scottish communities being asked to host significant new energy infrastructure. In many cases, these communities—often in rural and remote Scotland—already feel disproportionately affected by the costs and impacts of the transition. These communities are also experiencing higher energy costs due to higher standing charges, limitations on the type of fuel they can access, and housing stock which can be harder to heat. Clean power targets will only succeed if communities experience the transition as something that is done with them and not to them. It would be damaging to the UK’s clean power ambitions for there to be a perception that Scottish communities are being disadvantaged as a result of the ambition around clean power. (Conclusion, Paragraph 13)