The causes of the concern cover a number of areas including the Scottish government's refusal to contemplate nuclear power, the real cost of renewable energy and the impact that Climate Change legislation will have on the manufacturing engineering industry.

Scottish Engineering, the support group for the industry, is so concerned it has joined forces with Unite, Scotland's strongest trade union to provide an opportunity for all concerned organisations to air their views and hear what the future holds at a conference on February 10th at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh.

Other speakers at the event Bill Coley, Chief Executive of British Energy; Dr Mike Farley, Director for Technology Policy at Doosan Babcock; Brian Wilson former Energy Minister; Derek Simpson, joint General Secretary of Unite and Rhys Stanwix of Scottish and Southern Energy.

Growing fears that have been expressed by manufacturing companies are the cost of providing renewable energy at a level which our government has set at 50% by the year 2050. Bear in mind that for every unit of electricity that is produced by wind, there has to be a back up resource to cover eventualities.

When the wind doesn't blow or it blows too hard then the banks of turbines throughout the countryside cannot generate electricity.

At present, while the level of renewable electricity put into the grid is comparatively low, the existing coal, gas, oil and nuclear generators can cope with any slack that needs to be taken up. But some of these power stations are coming to the end of their working lives and there appears to be no discernable plan to replace them.

Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering said: "One thing we really need is a balanced, affordable, sustainable source of energy which is reliable, cost effective and secure. Our government needs to produce and work on a balanced energy policy.

"Security has been to the fore recently with the actions of Russia curtailing the supply of gas to its European neighbours following arguments with Ukraine. At present we only take around two percent of our gas from Russia but we would certainly not want to be in a position where we were more dependent on that source.

"We are hearing worrying reports from member companies who are seriously concerned by the consequences of the high cost of electricity. Our engineering manufacturing companies will be working under a considerable handicap where French manufacturers are using cheap nuclear power while we in the UK are saddled with expensive renewable energy.

"In Scotland we are just over a year away from the closure of the coal fired plant at Cockenzie. Scottish Power are planning to close the plant which at present has the capacity to produce enough power for one million homes, in September of next year. I am aware that new energy and planning bills are due to come into effect in April and hopefully that will have a positive effect on planning rules which up to now have been the bugbear of the industry, creating one of the biggest obstacles to the construction of plants."

John Quigley, Unite Scottish Secretary said: "A balanced energy strategy - incorporating clean coal, nuclear, oil, gas, and renewable sources - is vital to ensuring security of supply, greater price stability and the transition towards a low carbon economy.

"While we all share the desire to meet lower carbon emissions targets the issue is how we achieve this while keeping Scotland's lights on. The latest statistics show that nuclear power accounted for 26% of electricity generated whereas coal totalled 29%. Over the period 2000 to 2007 electricity generation from gas and oil accounted for 26% of the total. These figures contrast starkly with the 7.4% contribution by emerging renewables (i.e. wind, wave, solar power and thermal renewables) which does not include the already well-established hydro sector.

"Unite believes that the energy debate is one of the most pressing issues facing our country. It should not be constrained by being forced to choose between different energy sources but should be about a full appraisal of the available options. However, we are concerned that ideology is being placed above the national interest."

On a completely different tack, one area of electricity use has been identified through a nationwide project to cut carbon emissions. The governments at both Westminster and Holyrood are keen to promote the uptake of battery driven cars.

This would have the effect of cutting enormous amounts of carbon monoxide from the environment.

Unfortunately in so doing it has been pointed out that for every battery operated car there is a battery which has to be charged, on average for six hours a day which will put a tremendous strain on the generation system. The extra power will require further generation which in turn will produce an increase in the carbon output of the generators.

Dr Hughes concluded: "While it is in everybody's interest to make efficient use of all energy resources thereby minimising overall demand and regardless of how much or how little electricity we need it has to be sustainable, secure and affordable. I submit that in order to meet these requirements the supply has to come from a balance of the previously mentioned generation types, namely, coal, oil, gas, renewable and nuclear."

For further information contact Colin McGill on 0141 221 3181 or 07976 224412 or visit the Scottish Engineering website on www.scottishengineering.org.uk