19/04/2012 Newsnight Scotland

Tonight on Newsnight Scotland, the Korean firm Doosan pulls out of

investing in renewables here and sparked a political row in the

process. In the Scottish government cover up what happened? And when

the claims that renewables could we industrialise Scotland over-hyped?

And the festival of art starts tomorrow, this work made of 17 tons

of sawdust has already been named the tiramisu. Good evening. The

First Minister is not one for hiding his achievements under a

bushel, and he has not been shy of reeling off a long list of

international renewable investors bringing business here. At FMQs

today, the Scottish Labour leader accused Alex Salmond of withholding

the news that the Korean firm Doosan had pulled out of investing

in wind turbines. The government was told last December, so why was

the project still being quoted in government documents two months

later? Looking at international investment, you do not make company

announcements for them. If they Order! If Cannes... Order! We

will... His Doosan... Order! they want to make an announcement,

they have the right to do that, that is their decision, but the

announcement that Doosan made and the information was available. That

is why John Swinney was discussing it with Douglas Fraser on the radio

last Sunday. He is good news, the First Minister announces it. -- It

it is good news. If it is bad news, well, it is not in the business of

government to make announcements on behalf of companies. This would be

entirely inappropriate for us to take any responsibility, it is all

their job. Well, we did ask someone to come on from the government, but

they said no, so we are joined by Shadow Energy Minister, Tom

Greatrex. Is there any substance to this? I think there is some

substance to the very reasonable complaint that Alex Salmond made

his announcement in March, just before the election started, along

with a host of others, and he made it in terms of talking about

something that was going to happen. If you look at what Doosan said, it

was something they hoped would happen with the support of a

Scottish government agency. When this does not transpire, it is

something which it is hoped that no one notices. It is a pattern of

behaviour. It is similar to the issues around the Forth Road Bridge

and Lee Steele contracts which affects steelworks and my

constituency. -- and the steel contracts. It is similar to the

opportunity giving of decreasing the income tax rate. And again with

issues around local income tax and the Freedom of Information request

before the elections. It is not my job to give Alex Salmond advice,

other people get paid handsomely for doing that, but I would have

thought if the SNP are trying to be serious in government, they have

been left wanting with his series of events, and this is just the

latest example. Is there a matter of principle here? If the Scottish

government were to argue, and I do not know if they do, but it is

plausible, that for example they wanted to announce this when it

happened last December but that Doosan and ask them not to announce

it, you think it is acceptable for a government to agree to that sort

of deal? Well, it seems strange to me, the idea that Doosan, who

informed the Scottish government and their customer base in December,

would wish to stop the Scottish government from saying anything

about that. You have to try to ask the Scottish government about the

series of events leading up to that. It does seem to me that... What

about the principle? Could you imagine a situation where it would

be all right? They have been times with different governments in

different situations where governments have attempted to

support projects happening and they have not happened. They have said

that they have not been able to happen, and it does seem strange

that this was quoted in the Scottish government budget document,

two debates on those documents, and it was not mentioned that it was

not happening. I just wonder, is this really, in any sense, apart

from this political row, their fault? Some people are saying that

the reason that there is this underlying uncertainty about the

future of renewables in Britain at the moment is actually because of

energy reviews been carried out by the government in London, and the

messages that are coming out of them are very ambiguous? I mean,

there are a whole series of issues around the energy market for the

future, and what that might be in a separate Scotland posed referendum

is one of those, market reform is another, and the issues that Doosan

themselves quoted around liquidity and the ability to raise money are

another. But I think the important point with his Riz that sometimes

the hyperbolic statements, the Big Gran Geste ins -- the big grand

gestures around this future is that some people are very good at it, it

is their stock-in-trade. The reality is that we are dealing with

a world where energy has to change quite significantly over a

relatively short period of time. said hyperbolic, the thing the

whole thing has been over-hyped, his idea... Everyone is in favour

of a renewables industry, but the idea that it can lead to a re

industrialisation of Scotland. There is significant potential but

a very big difference between potential and the reality of

delivering that, and making grand statements and big announcements

and press releases is one thing. Making delivery happen is much more

complex, much more difficult, and that people are wanting to see a

grown-up, responsible, credible government in Scotland, as the SNP

have wanted to demonstrate they are, they need to be serious about

delivering. Sometimes these big statements do not tell what we are

trying to achieve. Thank you very much. Now, is the Doosan decision

the first crack in the plan to the industrialise Scotland through

renewables? Is a reminder of how previous attempts to create a

business matter that multiple jobs have gone waste -- have gone west.

Here is Derek Bateman. You would be amazed at the death

that politicians will descend to in the drive to create jobs. -- depth.

Throughout the post-war period, governments have tried to convince

us that they know how to make the economy work and luring in foreign

firms is often at the heart of the process. Only to watch them leave

again, taxpayer's pound notes fluttering in the slipstream.

silicon chip starts live like this... Room members Silicon Glen?

Japanese and Californian electronics adverts were invited to

prix build factories, offered tax breaks and ordered by ministers

until global headquarters decided there was a better deal in

Baltimore or Bombay. The jobs went with them, and Scotland was left

with empty factories and just as empty dreams. Politicians are under

a lot of pressure to look busy in the economy. Governments have to

show they are doing something. The most obvious thing is bringing jobs

in, making sure unemployment is kept down. Inward investment has

become the main way of getting large numbers of jobs quickly, and

Scotland became quite good at doing that, competing with Ireland, but

by European standards Scotland remains one of the best at getting

inward investment. The jobs come in, and the secret is making sure that

you are thinking beyond that, what happens to anchor the jobs and

ensure they stay. If they are mobile coming into Scotland, they

can be mobile leaving again. Often that means getting high-value jobs,

Few renewables. It seems the perfect fit for windy, stormy,

waves lashed Scotland. There is a global need to reduce carbon output.

It is the basis of SNP industrial policy and what Mr Salmond hopes

will be the re industrialisation of our country. If I had to say one

thing in terms of the economic future of the country, it is the

intention that this country, Scotland, will do the re-

engineering of the energy future of the European Continent, and that

seems to me to be a big vision. Which is one reason why the

decision by Korean engineering giant Doosan to pull out of one of

Short's Irvine Research Centre in Renfrew has let doubts over the

latest government backed plan. -- an offshore. This could be the

Saudi Arabia of renewable energy. But even if that is the case, even

if all of this is exploited, you then need to make sure that the

jobs and the profit to not all disappear outside the country,

which is quite possible for that to happen. Trying to anchor the

business within the Scottish economy is a big challenge. It is a

crucial time to do it, and it is by no means guaranteed that Scotland

will get the manufacturing jobs. we must avoid big names fleeing

when they feel like it. The dilemma for investment hungry ministers is

not just how to renew energy sources but how to make economic

I enjoyed by David Hunter, an analyst for M&C Energy Group, and

Dr Peter Hughes from Scottish Engineering. David Hunter, on this

particular issue, Doosan, they have said the reason they are pulling

out of this, they quote deteriorating confidence in

offshore wind. Why is there deteriorating confidence in

offshore wind? I think that Greg Barker, the Energy Minister, said

in the last week or so that, you know, perhaps insinuated that we do

not need to build as much as we thought we did. That might be a

factor. What people are concerned about potentially is the amount of

money that has to be spent, capital that has to be invested in this

kind of infrastructure. With capital markets internationally the

way they are, then there is growing concern that they may be problems

bearing that investment. Just to tease that out, there are questions

over whether we need all this stuff, and you say that secondly if you

want to build it, it is very expensive and the issue is that the

banks might not lend you the money. Doosan, the other reason they gave

was overall economic conditions and liquidity issues in Europe, which

F who have had to be honest, that is not restricted to wind power or

renewables. We're talking bicarb and storage and nuclear, a horizon

pulling out of the new builds down south. There is a big issue about

not just renewables. Perhaps the capital is not available as we once

thought. But this was the grey area of the future for us? Yes, but this

is just one announcement. We have seen other announcements, the likes

of the Port of Leith development and in the north-east of England.

It has not necessarily mean it is the end, but it is the poll for

this particular development of baseless. What you make of this

particular polite? -- pull-out. It is disappointing, but I we need to

make sure that there are programmes put in place which are put in place.

The company clearly did not think that was in place? Doosan a very

good company. They are doing a lot of good work in other places. There

are still coming to the United Kingdom, but what they're saying is,

in this particular case, it is not for them. By there clearly are we

going to invest money if they think they can make money, which is

clearly something they do not think is the case here. A will, perhaps

they feel they have too many competitors than this. They must

just think there are too many players. One of their problems we

have is that the Scottish government is over playing the

renewables thing. Also, we are looking at the electricity

infrastructure. You can produce all the energy you want in the

Highlands, but if it takes years for it to get to other places, it

is not any use. There are talking big two coal-fired power stations.

The decision of them to nine years to come about, that is far too long.

Companies want to get on with the Investment that organise where

they're going in the next 10 or 15 years and the Government did tell

blog more than that. I know there are particular factors to do with

Doosan, who are a late entrant into this marker and maybe just think

there is money to be made elsewhere. But not just the technicalities of

the electricity review by the British Government, but the noises

coming from other people, such as George Osborne, talking about green

energy. Maybe investors are worrying it if the Government is

actually committed to this? He is, investors are worried about this.

It is not just confined to the United Kingdom. If you look at

France and Germany, if you think of the context of the nuclear power

plant in Japan, a lot reversal of policies relating to nuclear power

in France and Germany have a knock- on effect. Company Seer have found

themselves with a big burden, as they have but a lot of profit

taking away from mum. It is a wider issue. If you believe in the

electricity market reform, we may be need to sit down and decide

centrally the mix of energy that we want, have that decided and then

invite companies to bed. -- to bed. To a we are seen a vast array of

new hydrocarbons becoming available and that is surely again, if you

are the big international company like Doosan, this renewable stuff,

is maybe not all it is thought up to be. He we need to get the likes

of skilled engineers to come up with the answers. I have this for

an independent study for them to come up with ideas it in the idea

of supply and distribution. I am encouraging the energy committee to

do the same in the Scottish Parliament. The very briefly, do

you think the world has changed since we will start to talk about

renewables, things have changed since all that big talk was going

on? I do not think so. Renewables will be a part of the energy mix,

but will not be the call story. Thank you very much.

An inflatable stonehenge, a work made of 17 tonnes of sawdust, and a

project which involves sound being catapulted across the River Clyde.

It can mean only one thing. The GI, or Glasgow International, a

biennial celebration of contemporary art is back. Since

2005, the showcase has helped put the city on the map with a series

of eyebrow-raising works of art. And this year's event, which begins

tomorrow, looks like being no different. A work of art in the

making Phil stock for the artist behind this community project, it

is about projecting sound from one side of the River Clyde to the

other. We have good string and Cup telethons and semaphore flags and a

tall ship will be sending messages to each other. We are building

catapults which will be throwing gifts across the river to each

other. Give eggs like this will be normal over the next 18 days as

Glasgow International gets under way. You can also try an inflatable

Stonehenge or a Tiramisu. The layers may not be edible, they are

made from 17 tons of sawdust, nail varnish and tanning lotion, but the

curators say there is an appetite for this sort of work, from the

artist's Carlisle black. It is very playful. She has a fund approach to

art. At the end of the day, it is for people to read into it whatever

they want. So it's 2005, Glasgow International has been pushing the

boundaries of contemporary art. At the same time, Glasgow's reputation

for creating art has going. So many Scots artists have won the Turner

Prize they prize has now even been dubbed the Glasgow Medical. They

are city is the second most important city in the United

Kingdom for producing art and is one of the most important cities in

Europe. It is to do with the energy and their peer group who were very

hard and never pulled up the ladder. For the last two decades, we have

seen world-class artists wanted to live here and work here and be part

of the community. At Seoul, for the home-grown scene, Glasgow

International is that celebration of what happens all year round.

While some may be bemused by the work can offer, contemporary art

clearly has a big appeal. A I run exhibitions and see people all the

time. People do not think it is unusual. To you mentioned the

Turner Prize, which received record-breaking figures. Whatever

we think of figures of being an indication of quality, it is an

indicator of an appetite for what is going on. The days when it is

seen as a marginal activity are long gone. As are the days when

contemporary art could only be seen in an art gallery. You can even

take home a piece of bark for a few days. But is exactly the same as a

book lending library, except this is contemporary art rather than

books. People can come in and enjoy a Eli Brecht and borrow items for

three days. They will then be collected and put back in the

library for someone else to borrow. Some works are only there for the

moment. That, say the artists, is part of the appeal. It is all about

effect. It is all about art having an effect. You build up momentum

and build up relationships that have the longevity. We are very

excited about the fact that the Riverside Museum and the tall ship

and other organisations are involved in this project and a

meeting each other and working together through it. They are doing

it through an art context and that is a way of forging new

relationships what should all have the long-term benefit for the

future. Now a quick look at tomorrow's

front pages. The Herald goes on about the local elections. The

Guardian, black firemen said he was abused and teaser by the met. And

any independent, the hacking scandal, the net tightens on the

Murdochs. Kid evening, the showers are easing

off, but they will develop again through the morning and be quite

expensive in the afternoon, particularly for the eastern side

of the country. Elsewhere, South East England should catch some

thundery downpours at times. These will push up into the East Midlands

and the East of Yorkshire. The best of the sunshine in the West Coast

of Scotland and it should be a bit dry and then. Not too many showers

in Northern Ireland either. It should turn brighter across good

parts of Wales. It means that the south-west will probably get the

worst of that rain and be a lot wetter than today. This is how it

is looking for the next couple of days. There is not a lot of change

their as you can see. Some heavy thundery showers in Edinburgh over

the weekend. Disappointingly cool for this time of the year. Again, a