The Scottish Government is setting up a new trust to revive shuttered coal mines across the country in the wake of the liquidation of Scottish Coal announced late last week.
First Minister Fergus Ewing told UPI the government will do everything possible to secure the continued operation of the business on a sustainable basis and that is one the main reasons it has created the new trust.
About 600 coal workers have already lost their jobs – the company operated six open-pit mines across the country.
The nation’s coal industry provides 4,500 direct and indirect jobs and is worth $760 million per year.
In fact, Scotland has one of the most advanced clean energy programs, with the amount of renewable energy generated in the country reaching a historical record of more than 14,600 gigawatt hours in 2012.
The nation’s goal is to generate 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2015 and 100% by 2020.
