Image source, bbc

Conservative MSP Alexander Burnett welcomes the new targets to push renewables ambitions even further.

Mr Burnett says the low hanging fruit has been picked and we now need significant investment in renewable heat and energy efficiency.

He says his party has called for every home to be EPC rated C or above by 2030.

The Tory MSP calls for more funding in the budget saying there is insufficient money at the moment.

The minister says the government has committed over £500 million to Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme (SEEP).

Mr Wheelhouse says the Local Energy Challenge Fund  has to date allocated £31 million to a wide range of innovative projects.

He announces around £50 million will soon be awarded to 13 low carbon demonstrator projects at sites across Scotland.

Half of Scotland's heat, transport and electricity energy needs will be met by renewables by 2030 under plans published by the Scottish government.

The draft Scottish Energy Strategy, external sets out a vision for the transition away from oil and gas dependency and towards a low-carbon economy by 2050.

Kevin Keane
Environment Correspondent

Image source, Star Renewable Energy

For most of us, heat is something generated within the confines of the homes we occupy; coal fires, gas-powered boilers, oil, electric storage units.

But in the town of Drammen in Norway it is a shared commodity, created off-site and piped into homes.

District heating is considered to be much more efficient - and therefore more environmentally friendly - than all of the above.

And if you can create that heat with less reliance on fossil fuels, the carbon footprint is reduced even further.

In Scotland, heat accounts for more than half our energy use and so decarbonising it will have to become a priority if climate change targets are to be met.

Image source, bbc

The irony is that while district heating is not in widespread use here, the system in Drammen was installed by a Scottish firm.

Glasgow-based Star Renewable Energy installed the heat pumps in 2010/11.

In simple terms, they work like a refrigerator in reverse, taking river water and cooling it down by about 4 degrees.

The heat extracted is enough to turn a sealed network of ammonia from a liquid to a gas which, through pressure, can heat water to 90 degrees.

That water is then piped into people's homes to heat their radiators.

Read more here.

Mr Wheelhouse says: "This draft Energy Strategy seeks to address the needs of those least able to pay for their energy - supporting energy solutions that provide warmer homes and better outcomes for consumers overall."

Mr Wheelhouse says the draft Energy Strategy confirms its proposal that Underground Coal Gasification will play no part in Scotland's energy mix.

The Heat Policy Statement (2015), external sets out the Scottish government’s future policy direction for addressing the three key aspects of the Heat system:

• how we use it (heat demand and its reduction)
• how we distribute and store it (heat networks and heat storage)
• where our heat comes from (heat generation.

Image source, PA

The minister says the draft Energy Strategy calls on UK ministers to do more to restore confidence in the renewables sector, in light of the UK's slide down the investment attractiveness league table.

Mr Wheelhouse says the strategy sets a challenge to the industry to make Scotland the first area in the UK to host subsidy-free onshore wind.

This Electricity Generation Policy Statement 2013 , external(EGPS) examines the way in which Scotland generates electricity, and considers the changes which will be necessary to meet the targets which the Scottish government has established, and reflects both views from industry and other stakeholders and also developments in UK and EU electricity policy.

It looks at the sources from which that electricity is produced, the amount of electricity which we use to meet our own needs and the technological and infrastructural advances and requirements which Scotland will require over the coming decade and beyond.

Image source, PA

The Scottish government’s policy on electricity generation is that Scotland’s generation mix should deliver:

•  a secure source of electricity supply
•  at an affordable cost to consumers
• which can be largely decarbonised by 2030
• and which achieves the greatest possible economic benefit and competitive advantage for Scotland including opportunities for community ownership and community benefits

The minister says a new 2030 ‘all energy’ renewables target is proposed in the Energy Strategy.

Mr Wheelhouse says it sets an ambitious challenge to deliver the equivalent of half of Scotland’s energy requirements for heat, transport and electricity from renewable energy sources.

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse says affordable energy provision is essential.

The minister says the Scottish government has now published a consultation on its Draft Scottish Energy Strategy setting out a vision for the future of energy in Scotland between now and 2050.

Image source, PA

The Scottish Government says it is developing a new, over-arching Energy Strategy to ensure Scotland has the best policies in place to optimise its significant energy resources and expertise, de-carbonise the energy system, and put communities at the heart of new investment.

Scotland’s well-established energy policy framework includes ambitious renewable and emissions-reduction targets and improvements in energy efficiency, leading to dramatic improvements. 

The energy ambitions outlined in the Electricity Generation Policy Statement (2013), external and Heat Policy Statement (2015) , externalremain unchanged.

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse will give a ministerial statement on the draft Scottish Energy Strategy.    

Mr Matheson says the there is work being taken forward for Shetland and Orkney. 

The justice secretary says the government is reviewing how strategies can be taken forward to support women at a local level.

He says strategies are not as he thinks they should be at the moment.

Mr Matheson says there has been an increase in these types of crimes. 

In relation to duty of proof, he says this is down to the Crown Office and the Lord Advocate. 

A footballer who was judged to have raped a woman alongside his then-teammate has retired from the game.

David Robertson and David Goodwillie never faced a criminal trial but were ordered by a civil court ruling to pay £100,000 damages to Denise Clair.

She sued the pair after being "devastated" by the Crown's decision not to prosecute.

Cowdenbeath FC confirmed that 30-year-old Robertson had retired from professional football.

Ms Clair, who has waived her right to anonymity, claimed Robertson and Plymouth Argyle's Goodwillie raped her at a flat in Armadale, in West Lothian, after a night out in Bathgate in January 2011.

Image source, SNS

She said she could not remember what happened after being in a Bathgate bar and woke up in a strange flat the following morning.

The two former Dundee United players had claimed the sex was consensual.

The 30-year-old originally sought £500,000 in compensation, but damages were later agreed at £100,000 in the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

It was the first civil case of its kind in Scotland.

Ms Baker says some timescales or targets around these areas are needed.

The Labour MSP raises the issue of the Denise Clair case where it never came to court.

Ms Baker says she does not doubt the commitment of the government but research has shown that the police response is not always quick.

The Labour MSP says victims in Orkney need more support and asks what support the government will give to those in Orkney and Shetland.

Mr Matheson says there has been difficulties in clinician numbers and recruitment of clinicians.

The justice secretary says the government are taking forward additional work with a view of recruiting more clinicians.

He says in rural and island communities the instances are lower which results in clinicians not using their training as much as is necessary. 

Image source, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Some rape victims in the Northern Isles do not report it because they have to travel to the mainland without washing for forensic examination, it has been claimed.

Rape Crisis Scotland is calling for specialist facilities to be made available in Orkney and Shetland.

Support workers say it would spare victims the ordeal of travelling by boat or plane under police escort.

The Scottish government said forensic facilities were being reviewed.

Rape Crisis Scotland said the lack of forensic examination facilities in Orkney or Shetland was adding to the trauma women had already suffered.

Image source, bbc

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson says better services are in place for victims.

Mr Matheson says an additional £1.85m has been awarded to Rape Crisis Scotland to help with this.

He says there are particular difficulties in rural and island areas and the government is committed to improving this.

Labour MSP Claire Baker asks the Scottish government what action it is taking to help victims of rape.