Howling gales and rain-lashed seafronts are not usually Scotland’s most attractive features. But the potential for wind, wave and even solar power north of the border — as gas reserves begin to run low and governments place tighter restrictions on electric power generation — has caught the attention of energy companies and placed their Scottish divisions firmly on the map.

So much so, in fact, that Scottish Gas, the Scotland-branded part of the former state-run power company British Gas, has reinstated a new head of Scottish operations after scrapping the post two years ago.

The move follows heavy Scottish investment by other energy companies, such as the Perth-based Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), which earlier this year opened the £160m hydro-electric scheme at Glendoe near Loch Ness — Scotland’s first conventional, large-scale hydro-electric power station for 50 years.

Kevin Roxburgh, the new Scottish Gas director, is a local poster boy for the firm, which is owned by Centrica. Having grown up in Edinburgh, he started work as “tea boy and general dogsbody” at Scottish Gas in 1981, working his way up for 20 years before moving south of the border, where he continued to work for the British Gas group in Derbyshire, Cheshire and Cardiff.

In the current energy crisis — a recent Ofgem report claimed £200 billion in investment will be needed by 2020 if energy targets are to be met — Roxburgh’s role will be key.

Centrica already has two wind farms in Scotland and has plans for a large offshore wind farm akin to that off the coast of Skegness, in Lincolnshire, which is the world’s largest producer of offshore wind power.

That, combined with the opportunities and challenges provided by the devolved Scottish government, plus a stronger push into the domestic energy-efficiency market with the introduction of products such as smart meters, has generated a need for a firmer steer on British Gas’s Scottish operations. The company has around 3,500 staff north of the border, including 800 engineering staff at its retail arm.

Roxburgh explains: “There’s a recognition that there are further opportunities north of the border, in terms of relationships with the Scottish government and other stakeholders such as local government, plus the green agenda.

“We’ve come to a point where we need to ensure we are focused here, based on what’s going on in the market, the environment and the infrastructure itself.”

He refuses to be drawn on the effect full Scottish independence could have on a UK-wide company such as Centrica, but he does admit that Scottish issues have become more pertinent.

“It’s about recognising that this is a very different market,” he says.

The homegrown players — Scottish and Southern Energy, and the now Spanish-owned Scottish Power — are faced with strong competition from Scottish Gas, which has 1.5m customers out of a market of 2.8m households and claims to have “ambitious targets” to boost numbers even further.

As in the rest of the UK, smart meters, which are the next big thing for the carbon-cutting drive because they let consumers monitor how and when they use energy, are firmly on Roxburgh’s agenda.

Initial trials have slashed energy consumption and customers’ bills. The meters are due to be rolled out across Scotland over the next three years.

“As our chief executive says, this is our iPod moment,” laughs Roxburgh, who plans to raise staff numbers by about 140 to service the meters.

Scotland’s natural resources make it an ideal spot for green technology such as wind and wave power, but it is the political stance from Holyrood which has underlined its position as a country with a strong focus on renewables. Part of Roxburgh’s role will be to liaise over issues such as investment in green energy. “We need the honest debate with government,” he says. “Although clean energy seems like it’s being talked about all the time, it is necessary to have further discussions. For any new power stations, you have to make a decision well in advance — it takes 18 years to build a nuclear power plant and eight years for coal and gas. These are hard decisions, but they can’t be left any longer.”

The SNP government, though, supported by some Liberal Democrat MSPs, has said a firm no to further nuclear power plants in Scotland.

The decision is a tough one for Centrica, which is committed to building nuclear power stations in England if given the go-ahead by Westminster.

Roxburgh is non-committal as to whether his firm believes the battle is really over.

He insists: “Centrica are absolutely committed to investing in new nuclear power. Anyone with the wisdom and know-how will say we need a mix for a sustainable supply in the future. Nuclear is absolutely a part of that, as is wind and other renewable sources.

“We’ve got to make sure the key stakeholders in the country understand that.” Centrica has a separate division, British Gas New Energy, which works with customers to improve insulation and cut energy costs — a drive it is planning to invest in heavily in Scotland, where housing stock is often old and poorly insulated.

Roxburgh says: “We have to cut carbon, we have to keep the lights on and we have to be seen to cut bills.

“It’s the right thing to do, even if it is a bit like turkeys voting for Christmas.”

jane.bradley@sunday-times.co.uk

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