Renewables push must match 'pace' of 1970s North Sea oil boom, Bank of England's Andrew Bailey says

In a keynote speech to Scotland’s Global Investment Summit, Andrew Bailey heralded the “exciting” opportunities in the country, and said it was vital to match the “efficiency of construction” seen in the early 1970s as energy giants made major investments in oil and gas.

Addressing investors and politicians, he also called for a “pragmatic” and “open-minded” approach to the potential and risks of artificial intelligence, insisting that it is “all of our responsibility” to solve the issues associated with the fast-moving technology.

Mr Bailey recalled a visit he made in 2023 to the north east of Scotland and Orkney, and stressed that the nation was at the “forefront” of a transition which saw the energy industry evolving at pace.

He said the challenge was to invest to capture and convey “abundant green energy” to where it is needed, and ensure it is available when it is needed, something he said was “increasingly possible to do at scale with the right investment.”

Speaking at a dinner at Edinburgh’s Signet Library on Monday evening, Mr Bailey also reflected on a visit he made to Flotta oil terminal, telling the audience how a fact that “stuck” in his mind was how the terminal received planning consent for its first phase in January 1974, and was operational by summer 1976.

“That pace of progress feels like an achievement that we must aspire to in terms of efficiency of construction if we are to exploit this generation’s white heat of technology moment,” he said. “There are big plans to emulate the discovery of oil around Orkney in the 1970s with the development of renewables.”

He added that we need to ensure that we have “good infrastructure” so that innovation can succeed, explaining: “The lesson for me of the 1970s story at Flotta was to have the vision and then get on with it – obvious I know, but not always realised.”

During his speech at the investment summit, billed as an opportunity to engage with senior policy leaders and discuss investment opportunities, Mr Bailey also stressed the importance of putting in place the conditions to support an environment where investment occurs “across the economy,” with a policy framework that sustains growth and innovation.

He went on: “I recognise that this sounds rather like motherhood and apple pie, but there is substance to it. For instance, we must take a pragmatic and open-minded approach to the potential and risks of AI.

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“We must understand what it can and cannot deliver, and where it can create broader issues that will need to be tackled. But I would say to the alarmists that it is all of our responsibility to solve such issues rather than just broadcast them.”

He also told the summit he was “glass half full” when it comes to the opportunities for investment, innovation and growth, pointing out: “I spend time going around the country visiting companies, talking to start-ups. It’s that simple.”

The summit, promoted by the City of London Corporation and Scottish Financial Enterprise, and supported by the Scottish and UK governments, will hear on Tuesday from key business figures including Adrian Gillespie, the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Sandy Boss, the chair of Blackrock UK, and Paul Thwaite, chief executive of the Natwest group.

First Minister John Swinney is scheduled to deliver a closing keynote address at the summit, while deputy first minister, Kate Forbes, and the business minister, Richard Lochhead, are chairing other events at the gathering at Natwest’s Gogarburn campus.