Seòmar agus comataidhean

Information gathered from market sources has indicated that specifying specific quantities of renewable electricity can lead to reduced competition. The upturn in demand for renewable electricity has resulted in reduced quantities being readily available leading to an increased risk that few, if any, suppliers could meet a large demand from the Scottish public sector.

The national contract tender contains provisions to ensure that access to renewable electricity is not dependent on the renewable supplies available from any particular supplier at the time of submitting their tender. Innovative contract terms will ensure that other sources of supply can be accessed as necessary.

The Scottish ministers'' high level output specification (HLOS) was published in July 2007 and specified ministers'' requirements for the rail network from April 2009 to March 2014. The HLOS makes clear that Network Rail require to pursue continued improvements to operational and financial performance, including improved resilience. The public funding available to support the HLOS includes an appropriate element for the continued maintenance of the Scottish rail network.

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.

Market participants were requested to provide information on a number of issues. The list was in no specific order.

Market indicators have suggested that the demand for renewable electricity has significantly increased as both public and private sector organisations have sought to demonstrate green credentials. This has resulted in supplies of renewable electricity being constrained in the market place both in terms of total availability and the quantities available from individual suppliers. The request for information process therefore sought information from the market on availability of renewable electricity to inform the strategy for the national electricity contract for the Scottish public sector.

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.

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.

The national contract will give public sector organisations the option to buy renewable electricity dependant on availability and payment of appropriate premiums.

The overall portion of renewable electricity purchased will therefore depend on the quantities specified by individual public bodies in line with their own policy and budget priorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15736 on 10 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

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.