Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal [image credit: shetland.org]
The climate hasn’t got colder, so something else has to take the blame. How did a place on the doorstep of various gas and oil fields, and even touted as ideal for wind power, get itself into such a state?
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Some 96% of residents of the Shetland Islands could find themselves in fuel poverty by next April, according to a local official, who issued a stark warning about the future of the archipelago, reports Sky News.
Despite Scotland supplying much of the UK’s gas, islanders must earn a salary of £104,000 to avoid slipping into fuel poverty, according to the Leader of Shetland Islands Council.
The estimated average energy cost on the Shetland Islands will rise to £10,300 per household by next April, with the vast majority of residents spending 10% of their income on energy bills.
A unique confluence of factors push the cost of living in Shetland to double that of the UK: a much colder climate, coupled with poor insulation and a lack of cheaper energy options such as mains gas.
“Our islands have been at the heart of oil and gas activity for over forty years, yet our people have not seen the benefits of that in terms of a lower cost of fuel,” said council leader Emma Macdonald.
Full report here.
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
August 31, 2022 at 01:27PM
Iowa Climate Science Education 