Contested Energy: A long-term Perspective on Opposition to Renewable Power Developments in Scotland

Abstract

The Scottish Government's decision in January 2010 to approve the construction of the Beauly-Denny power line brings an end to a long-running public dispute. 1 The decision, the Public Inquiry which preceded it, and the proposal to build the 220 km, 4C0kV transmission line through some of Scotland's most revered mountain scenery, have all focused attention on two of the key questions of Scottish economic historiography: what and who are the Highlands for? Written off as economically uninteresting and