19/04/2012

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:00:14. > :00:17.Tonight on Newsnight Scotland, the Korean firm Doosan pulls out of

:00:17. > :00:25.investing in renewables here and sparked a political row in the

:00:25. > :00:29.process. In the Scottish government cover up what happened? And when

:00:29. > :00:33.the claims that renewables could we industrialise Scotland over-hyped?

:00:33. > :00:37.And the festival of art starts tomorrow, this work made of 17 tons

:00:38. > :00:40.of sawdust has already been named the tiramisu. Good evening. The

:00:40. > :00:44.First Minister is not one for hiding his achievements under a

:00:44. > :00:48.bushel, and he has not been shy of reeling off a long list of

:00:48. > :00:53.international renewable investors bringing business here. At FMQs

:00:53. > :00:56.today, the Scottish Labour leader accused Alex Salmond of withholding

:00:56. > :01:01.the news that the Korean firm Doosan had pulled out of investing

:01:01. > :01:04.in wind turbines. The government was told last December, so why was

:01:04. > :01:13.the project still being quoted in government documents two months

:01:13. > :01:23.later? Looking at international investment, you do not make company

:01:23. > :01:26.

:01:26. > :01:32.announcements for them. If they Order! If Cannes... Order! We

:01:32. > :01:37.will... His Doosan... Order! they want to make an announcement,

:01:37. > :01:40.they have the right to do that, that is their decision, but the

:01:40. > :01:45.announcement that Doosan made and the information was available. That

:01:45. > :01:54.is why John Swinney was discussing it with Douglas Fraser on the radio

:01:54. > :01:58.last Sunday. He is good news, the First Minister announces it. -- It

:01:58. > :02:03.it is good news. If it is bad news, well, it is not in the business of

:02:03. > :02:07.government to make announcements on behalf of companies. This would be

:02:07. > :02:11.entirely inappropriate for us to take any responsibility, it is all

:02:11. > :02:16.their job. Well, we did ask someone to come on from the government, but

:02:16. > :02:20.they said no, so we are joined by Shadow Energy Minister, Tom

:02:20. > :02:25.Greatrex. Is there any substance to this? I think there is some

:02:25. > :02:28.substance to the very reasonable complaint that Alex Salmond made

:02:28. > :02:32.his announcement in March, just before the election started, along

:02:32. > :02:36.with a host of others, and he made it in terms of talking about

:02:36. > :02:39.something that was going to happen. If you look at what Doosan said, it

:02:39. > :02:43.was something they hoped would happen with the support of a

:02:43. > :02:47.Scottish government agency. When this does not transpire, it is

:02:47. > :02:50.something which it is hoped that no one notices. It is a pattern of

:02:51. > :02:54.behaviour. It is similar to the issues around the Forth Road Bridge

:02:54. > :02:59.and Lee Steele contracts which affects steelworks and my

:02:59. > :03:03.constituency. -- and the steel contracts. It is similar to the

:03:03. > :03:06.opportunity giving of decreasing the income tax rate. And again with

:03:06. > :03:10.issues around local income tax and the Freedom of Information request

:03:10. > :03:14.before the elections. It is not my job to give Alex Salmond advice,

:03:14. > :03:18.other people get paid handsomely for doing that, but I would have

:03:18. > :03:21.thought if the SNP are trying to be serious in government, they have

:03:21. > :03:26.been left wanting with his series of events, and this is just the

:03:26. > :03:30.latest example. Is there a matter of principle here? If the Scottish

:03:30. > :03:34.government were to argue, and I do not know if they do, but it is

:03:34. > :03:38.plausible, that for example they wanted to announce this when it

:03:38. > :03:43.happened last December but that Doosan and ask them not to announce

:03:43. > :03:49.it, you think it is acceptable for a government to agree to that sort

:03:49. > :03:53.of deal? Well, it seems strange to me, the idea that Doosan, who

:03:53. > :03:55.informed the Scottish government and their customer base in December,

:03:55. > :04:00.would wish to stop the Scottish government from saying anything

:04:00. > :04:05.about that. You have to try to ask the Scottish government about the

:04:05. > :04:07.series of events leading up to that. It does seem to me that... What

:04:07. > :04:13.about the principle? Could you imagine a situation where it would

:04:13. > :04:14.be all right? They have been times with different governments in

:04:14. > :04:17.different situations where governments have attempted to

:04:17. > :04:20.support projects happening and they have not happened. They have said

:04:20. > :04:23.that they have not been able to happen, and it does seem strange

:04:23. > :04:27.that this was quoted in the Scottish government budget document,

:04:27. > :04:34.two debates on those documents, and it was not mentioned that it was

:04:34. > :04:38.not happening. I just wonder, is this really, in any sense, apart

:04:38. > :04:43.from this political row, their fault? Some people are saying that

:04:43. > :04:47.the reason that there is this underlying uncertainty about the

:04:47. > :04:51.future of renewables in Britain at the moment is actually because of

:04:51. > :04:55.energy reviews been carried out by the government in London, and the

:04:55. > :04:58.messages that are coming out of them are very ambiguous? I mean,

:04:59. > :05:02.there are a whole series of issues around the energy market for the

:05:02. > :05:06.future, and what that might be in a separate Scotland posed referendum

:05:06. > :05:10.is one of those, market reform is another, and the issues that Doosan

:05:10. > :05:15.themselves quoted around liquidity and the ability to raise money are

:05:15. > :05:21.another. But I think the important point with his Riz that sometimes

:05:21. > :05:24.the hyperbolic statements, the Big Gran Geste ins -- the big grand

:05:24. > :05:26.gestures around this future is that some people are very good at it, it

:05:26. > :05:30.is their stock-in-trade. The reality is that we are dealing with

:05:30. > :05:35.a world where energy has to change quite significantly over a

:05:35. > :05:40.relatively short period of time. said hyperbolic, the thing the

:05:40. > :05:44.whole thing has been over-hyped, his idea... Everyone is in favour

:05:44. > :05:47.of a renewables industry, but the idea that it can lead to a re

:05:47. > :05:50.industrialisation of Scotland. There is significant potential but

:05:50. > :05:53.a very big difference between potential and the reality of

:05:53. > :05:57.delivering that, and making grand statements and big announcements

:05:58. > :06:02.and press releases is one thing. Making delivery happen is much more

:06:02. > :06:06.complex, much more difficult, and that people are wanting to see a

:06:06. > :06:09.grown-up, responsible, credible government in Scotland, as the SNP

:06:09. > :06:13.have wanted to demonstrate they are, they need to be serious about

:06:13. > :06:18.delivering. Sometimes these big statements do not tell what we are

:06:18. > :06:21.trying to achieve. Thank you very much. Now, is the Doosan decision

:06:21. > :06:27.the first crack in the plan to the industrialise Scotland through

:06:27. > :06:32.renewables? Is a reminder of how previous attempts to create a

:06:32. > :06:35.business matter that multiple jobs have gone waste -- have gone west.

:06:36. > :06:40.Here is Derek Bateman. You would be amazed at the death

:06:40. > :06:44.that politicians will descend to in the drive to create jobs. -- depth.

:06:44. > :06:48.Throughout the post-war period, governments have tried to convince

:06:48. > :06:54.us that they know how to make the economy work and luring in foreign

:06:54. > :07:00.firms is often at the heart of the process. Only to watch them leave

:07:00. > :07:04.again, taxpayer's pound notes fluttering in the slipstream.

:07:04. > :07:10.silicon chip starts live like this... Room members Silicon Glen?

:07:10. > :07:14.Japanese and Californian electronics adverts were invited to

:07:14. > :07:17.prix build factories, offered tax breaks and ordered by ministers

:07:17. > :07:21.until global headquarters decided there was a better deal in

:07:21. > :07:27.Baltimore or Bombay. The jobs went with them, and Scotland was left

:07:27. > :07:31.with empty factories and just as empty dreams. Politicians are under

:07:31. > :07:34.a lot of pressure to look busy in the economy. Governments have to

:07:34. > :07:38.show they are doing something. The most obvious thing is bringing jobs

:07:38. > :07:42.in, making sure unemployment is kept down. Inward investment has

:07:43. > :07:49.become the main way of getting large numbers of jobs quickly, and

:07:49. > :07:52.Scotland became quite good at doing that, competing with Ireland, but

:07:52. > :07:56.by European standards Scotland remains one of the best at getting

:07:56. > :07:59.inward investment. The jobs come in, and the secret is making sure that

:07:59. > :08:02.you are thinking beyond that, what happens to anchor the jobs and

:08:02. > :08:07.ensure they stay. If they are mobile coming into Scotland, they

:08:07. > :08:17.can be mobile leaving again. Often that means getting high-value jobs,

:08:17. > :08:17.

:08:17. > :08:21.Few renewables. It seems the perfect fit for windy, stormy,

:08:21. > :08:27.waves lashed Scotland. There is a global need to reduce carbon output.

:08:27. > :08:33.It is the basis of SNP industrial policy and what Mr Salmond hopes

:08:33. > :08:36.will be the re industrialisation of our country. If I had to say one

:08:36. > :08:41.thing in terms of the economic future of the country, it is the

:08:41. > :08:43.intention that this country, Scotland, will do the re-

:08:43. > :08:48.engineering of the energy future of the European Continent, and that

:08:48. > :08:52.seems to me to be a big vision. Which is one reason why the

:08:52. > :08:54.decision by Korean engineering giant Doosan to pull out of one of

:08:54. > :09:04.Short's Irvine Research Centre in Renfrew has let doubts over the

:09:04. > :09:11.

:09:11. > :09:16.latest government backed plan. -- an offshore. This could be the

:09:16. > :09:20.Saudi Arabia of renewable energy. But even if that is the case, even

:09:20. > :09:23.if all of this is exploited, you then need to make sure that the

:09:23. > :09:26.jobs and the profit to not all disappear outside the country,

:09:27. > :09:30.which is quite possible for that to happen. Trying to anchor the

:09:30. > :09:33.business within the Scottish economy is a big challenge. It is a

:09:34. > :09:39.crucial time to do it, and it is by no means guaranteed that Scotland

:09:39. > :09:42.will get the manufacturing jobs. we must avoid big names fleeing

:09:42. > :09:46.when they feel like it. The dilemma for investment hungry ministers is

:09:46. > :09:56.not just how to renew energy sources but how to make economic

:09:56. > :09:58.

:09:58. > :10:02.I enjoyed by David Hunter, an analyst for M&C Energy Group, and

:10:02. > :10:06.Dr Peter Hughes from Scottish Engineering. David Hunter, on this

:10:06. > :10:11.particular issue, Doosan, they have said the reason they are pulling

:10:11. > :10:16.out of this, they quote deteriorating confidence in

:10:16. > :10:21.offshore wind. Why is there deteriorating confidence in

:10:21. > :10:25.offshore wind? I think that Greg Barker, the Energy Minister, said

:10:25. > :10:29.in the last week or so that, you know, perhaps insinuated that we do

:10:29. > :10:32.not need to build as much as we thought we did. That might be a

:10:32. > :10:36.factor. What people are concerned about potentially is the amount of

:10:37. > :10:39.money that has to be spent, capital that has to be invested in this

:10:39. > :10:45.kind of infrastructure. With capital markets internationally the

:10:45. > :10:51.way they are, then there is growing concern that they may be problems

:10:51. > :10:55.bearing that investment. Just to tease that out, there are questions

:10:55. > :10:59.over whether we need all this stuff, and you say that secondly if you

:10:59. > :11:04.want to build it, it is very expensive and the issue is that the

:11:04. > :11:06.banks might not lend you the money. Doosan, the other reason they gave

:11:06. > :11:16.was overall economic conditions and liquidity issues in Europe, which

:11:16. > :11:18.

:11:18. > :11:25.F who have had to be honest, that is not restricted to wind power or

:11:25. > :11:32.renewables. We're talking bicarb and storage and nuclear, a horizon

:11:32. > :11:37.pulling out of the new builds down south. There is a big issue about

:11:37. > :11:47.not just renewables. Perhaps the capital is not available as we once

:11:47. > :11:48.

:11:48. > :11:55.thought. But this was the grey area of the future for us? Yes, but this

:11:55. > :11:59.is just one announcement. We have seen other announcements, the likes

:11:59. > :12:07.of the Port of Leith development and in the north-east of England.

:12:07. > :12:13.It has not necessarily mean it is the end, but it is the poll for

:12:13. > :12:23.this particular development of baseless. What you make of this

:12:23. > :12:29.

:12:29. > :12:39.particular polite? -- pull-out. It is disappointing, but I we need to

:12:39. > :12:39.

:12:40. > :12:47.make sure that there are programmes put in place which are put in place.

:12:47. > :12:52.The company clearly did not think that was in place? Doosan a very

:12:52. > :12:56.good company. They are doing a lot of good work in other places. There

:12:56. > :13:03.are still coming to the United Kingdom, but what they're saying is,

:13:03. > :13:06.in this particular case, it is not for them. By there clearly are we

:13:06. > :13:14.going to invest money if they think they can make money, which is

:13:14. > :13:19.clearly something they do not think is the case here. A will, perhaps

:13:19. > :13:24.they feel they have too many competitors than this. They must

:13:24. > :13:29.just think there are too many players. One of their problems we

:13:29. > :13:34.have is that the Scottish government is over playing the

:13:34. > :13:37.renewables thing. Also, we are looking at the electricity

:13:37. > :13:41.infrastructure. You can produce all the energy you want in the

:13:41. > :13:51.Highlands, but if it takes years for it to get to other places, it

:13:51. > :13:54.

:13:54. > :13:59.is not any use. There are talking big two coal-fired power stations.

:13:59. > :14:03.The decision of them to nine years to come about, that is far too long.

:14:03. > :14:06.Companies want to get on with the Investment that organise where

:14:06. > :14:14.they're going in the next 10 or 15 years and the Government did tell

:14:14. > :14:18.blog more than that. I know there are particular factors to do with

:14:18. > :14:23.Doosan, who are a late entrant into this marker and maybe just think

:14:24. > :14:27.there is money to be made elsewhere. But not just the technicalities of

:14:27. > :14:37.the electricity review by the British Government, but the noises

:14:37. > :14:37.

:14:37. > :14:41.coming from other people, such as George Osborne, talking about green

:14:41. > :14:48.energy. Maybe investors are worrying it if the Government is

:14:48. > :14:52.actually committed to this? He is, investors are worried about this.

:14:52. > :14:57.It is not just confined to the United Kingdom. If you look at

:14:57. > :15:03.France and Germany, if you think of the context of the nuclear power

:15:04. > :15:10.plant in Japan, a lot reversal of policies relating to nuclear power

:15:10. > :15:14.in France and Germany have a knock- on effect. Company Seer have found

:15:14. > :15:24.themselves with a big burden, as they have but a lot of profit

:15:24. > :15:24.

:15:24. > :15:28.taking away from mum. It is a wider issue. If you believe in the

:15:28. > :15:34.electricity market reform, we may be need to sit down and decide

:15:34. > :15:44.centrally the mix of energy that we want, have that decided and then

:15:44. > :15:49.

:15:49. > :15:52.invite companies to bed. -- to bed. To a we are seen a vast array of

:15:52. > :16:00.new hydrocarbons becoming available and that is surely again, if you

:16:00. > :16:08.are the big international company like Doosan, this renewable stuff,

:16:08. > :16:11.is maybe not all it is thought up to be. He we need to get the likes

:16:12. > :16:16.of skilled engineers to come up with the answers. I have this for

:16:16. > :16:21.an independent study for them to come up with ideas it in the idea

:16:21. > :16:27.of supply and distribution. I am encouraging the energy committee to

:16:27. > :16:32.do the same in the Scottish Parliament. The very briefly, do

:16:32. > :16:36.you think the world has changed since we will start to talk about

:16:36. > :16:45.renewables, things have changed since all that big talk was going

:16:45. > :16:52.on? I do not think so. Renewables will be a part of the energy mix,

:16:52. > :16:55.but will not be the call story. Thank you very much.

:16:55. > :16:58.An inflatable stonehenge, a work made of 17 tonnes of sawdust, and a

:16:58. > :17:01.project which involves sound being catapulted across the River Clyde.

:17:01. > :17:03.It can mean only one thing. The GI, or Glasgow International, a

:17:03. > :17:06.biennial celebration of contemporary art is back. Since

:17:06. > :17:10.2005, the showcase has helped put the city on the map with a series

:17:10. > :17:20.of eyebrow-raising works of art. And this year's event, which begins

:17:20. > :17:22.

:17:22. > :17:26.tomorrow, looks like being no different. A work of art in the

:17:27. > :17:31.making Phil stock for the artist behind this community project, it

:17:31. > :17:41.is about projecting sound from one side of the River Clyde to the

:17:41. > :17:46.other. We have good string and Cup telethons and semaphore flags and a

:17:46. > :17:50.tall ship will be sending messages to each other. We are building

:17:50. > :17:59.catapults which will be throwing gifts across the river to each

:17:59. > :18:05.other. Give eggs like this will be normal over the next 18 days as

:18:05. > :18:13.Glasgow International gets under way. You can also try an inflatable

:18:13. > :18:19.Stonehenge or a Tiramisu. The layers may not be edible, they are

:18:19. > :18:24.made from 17 tons of sawdust, nail varnish and tanning lotion, but the

:18:24. > :18:33.curators say there is an appetite for this sort of work, from the

:18:33. > :18:38.artist's Carlisle black. It is very playful. She has a fund approach to

:18:38. > :18:45.art. At the end of the day, it is for people to read into it whatever

:18:46. > :18:53.they want. So it's 2005, Glasgow International has been pushing the

:18:53. > :19:00.boundaries of contemporary art. At the same time, Glasgow's reputation

:19:00. > :19:08.for creating art has going. So many Scots artists have won the Turner

:19:08. > :19:12.Prize they prize has now even been dubbed the Glasgow Medical. They

:19:12. > :19:15.are city is the second most important city in the United

:19:15. > :19:20.Kingdom for producing art and is one of the most important cities in

:19:20. > :19:24.Europe. It is to do with the energy and their peer group who were very

:19:24. > :19:28.hard and never pulled up the ladder. For the last two decades, we have

:19:28. > :19:35.seen world-class artists wanted to live here and work here and be part

:19:35. > :19:42.of the community. At Seoul, for the home-grown scene, Glasgow

:19:42. > :19:46.International is that celebration of what happens all year round.

:19:46. > :19:53.While some may be bemused by the work can offer, contemporary art

:19:53. > :20:00.clearly has a big appeal. A I run exhibitions and see people all the

:20:00. > :20:07.time. People do not think it is unusual. To you mentioned the

:20:07. > :20:12.Turner Prize, which received record-breaking figures. Whatever

:20:12. > :20:16.we think of figures of being an indication of quality, it is an

:20:16. > :20:23.indicator of an appetite for what is going on. The days when it is

:20:23. > :20:28.seen as a marginal activity are long gone. As are the days when

:20:28. > :20:35.contemporary art could only be seen in an art gallery. You can even

:20:35. > :20:39.take home a piece of bark for a few days. But is exactly the same as a

:20:39. > :20:48.book lending library, except this is contemporary art rather than

:20:48. > :20:54.books. People can come in and enjoy a Eli Brecht and borrow items for

:20:54. > :21:02.three days. They will then be collected and put back in the

:21:02. > :21:12.library for someone else to borrow. Some works are only there for the

:21:12. > :21:12.

:21:12. > :21:18.moment. That, say the artists, is part of the appeal. It is all about

:21:18. > :21:21.effect. It is all about art having an effect. You build up momentum

:21:21. > :21:30.and build up relationships that have the longevity. We are very

:21:30. > :21:33.excited about the fact that the Riverside Museum and the tall ship

:21:33. > :21:38.and other organisations are involved in this project and a

:21:38. > :21:42.meeting each other and working together through it. They are doing

:21:42. > :21:45.it through an art context and that is a way of forging new

:21:45. > :21:48.relationships what should all have the long-term benefit for the

:21:48. > :21:58.future. Now a quick look at tomorrow's

:21:58. > :22:00.

:22:01. > :22:10.front pages. The Herald goes on about the local elections. The

:22:11. > :22:11.

:22:11. > :22:15.Guardian, black firemen said he was abused and teaser by the met. And

:22:15. > :22:25.any independent, the hacking scandal, the net tightens on the

:22:25. > :22:29.

:22:29. > :22:35.Murdochs. Kid evening, the showers are easing

:22:35. > :22:39.off, but they will develop again through the morning and be quite

:22:39. > :22:46.expensive in the afternoon, particularly for the eastern side

:22:46. > :22:52.of the country. Elsewhere, South East England should catch some

:22:52. > :23:00.thundery downpours at times. These will push up into the East Midlands

:23:00. > :23:05.and the East of Yorkshire. The best of the sunshine in the West Coast

:23:05. > :23:10.of Scotland and it should be a bit dry and then. Not too many showers

:23:10. > :23:16.in Northern Ireland either. It should turn brighter across good

:23:16. > :23:20.parts of Wales. It means that the south-west will probably get the

:23:20. > :23:25.worst of that rain and be a lot wetter than today. This is how it

:23:25. > :23:31.is looking for the next couple of days. There is not a lot of change

:23:31. > :23:37.their as you can see. Some heavy thundery showers in Edinburgh over

:23:38. > :23:41.the weekend. Disappointingly cool for this time of the year. Again, a