SO, Shetland is exploring financial and political independence from Scotland. In the debates that followed the council vote 10 days ago, much was made of Shetland’s ability to profit from the offshore gas and oil fields surrounding the island.

I’ve worked in the energy industry in Orkney for 15 years, so take it from me: if Shetland is banking on oil money to secure its independence, that future may not be so secure after all. Fossil oil and gas are on the decline and their products pollute our only home.

Instead, there’s a bright future ahead for Shetland if it looks to the future, and taps into the practically infinite sources of tidal and wind power that surround it.

So, what’s the catch with oil and gas profits? First, the brutal, geological truth. Supplies of fossil oil and gas in the North Sea are dwindling. We’re well past the peak of production. There’s not much left down there – and what remains is harder and more dangerous to extract than ever.

Not convinced by the science? Then follow the money. Last week, BP said that demand for oil faces a historic decline. Official figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility show that revenues from oil and gas have fallen by 90% since 2008/09. Between 2015 and 2017, oil companies received more from the UK Government in subsidies than they paid in taxes. The oil industry isn’t just slowing down – it’s going backwards. But oil brings us jobs, not just money – right? Well, just ask oil workers how secure they feel. Thousands of jobs have been lost already this year, and at least 30,000 are predicted to go.

My business employs several people who used to work in oil and gas: highly skilled people who now see their future in renewables. That change might not work for every oil and gas worker, but my employees are not alone. Three-quarters of oil workers are chomping at the bit to join the renewables sector, according to a recent survey.

I worry that a future dependent on oil and gas would weigh Shetland down, not set it free. So, if that won’t work, what will? That’s the question I ask myself every day, as MD of a world-first testing laboratory for new clean energy technologies in Orkney. The answer surrounds Shetland’s shores: the island’s practically infinite wind and tidal power.

It makes the Northern Isles

one of the most fruitful places in

Europe to harness the power of renewable energy.

BP says the renewables sector is likely to grow by 157% by 2030. When you compare that to predicted growth rates of 0% for oil, which seems the better bet?

If you’re seeking proof, look at what is happening on our island right now. Take the island of Hoy in Orkney as just one example. In recent years, it’s benefited from renewable energy projects to tackle major problems facing their community, such as fuel poverty. The islanders take surveys so everyone can have their say on the next steps of the project. Their wind turbines are owned by the community, and they’re developing solar panels and battery storage next.

More than 100 homes are set to have cutting-edge new technology installed this autumn, saving them cash for years to come. It’s proof that when places like Hoy take charge of their own energy future, they can have a proper say in the infrastructure they live alongside.

Then there’s the world-first Bluemull Sound tidal power scheme in Shetland, generating consistent, reliable and clean energy ready to power our homes. Or the historic Fair Isle electricity system, using wind and solar power to finally provide Fair Isle residents with reliable, 24/7 power for the

first time ever.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Last week, BP called renewable energy the fastest-growing energy source in history. As the fossil fuel industry is dying, this is what the future looks like. Renewable energy projects mean huge opportunities to make jobs more secure – and create new opportunities – for Shetland’s workers too. We already have phenomenally talented oil and gas workers, ready to be retrained to take on secure work in a growing industry. Then there are highly-skilled workers from the fishing and offshore construction industries.

And because new technology is being developed all the time – like using hydrogen to deliver power with only tiny amounts of pollution – there are more jobs, and more money, on the road ahead. Building jobs in renewables won’t just secure workers in their own jobs – they’ll know there will be jobs for their children and grandchildren too.

OIL and gas were good to our economy – if not our planet – in the last century. But the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is already under way. We have no way to change that, and the faster we adapt, the more choice we have over what happens next. Moving slowly means we risk big corporates taking charge again and putting down infrastructure that doesn’t suit us and where we don’t want it.

Life on islands is different and life in Orkney is not the same as Shetland, but our isolation, gloriously fierce weather, Norse heritage and strong communities have created common needs. This created people who are independent-minded and unafraid to go their own way.

That makes Shetland in particular, and Scotland by association, the perfect place to speed ahead, and show the rest of the UK what a more secure and more sustainable future would look like.

Do we cling to the familiar, dying oil industry, controlled by corporates? Or will Shetland carve out a new future rooted in new, clean technologies, chosen by the people who actually live there?

If Shetland’s being told to stake everything on oil, I think they’re being sold a pup.

Neil Kermode is a Northern Isles energy expert and the MD of the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, a Government-backed research facility that tests the performance of new clean-energy technologies