Why oil money is still essential to Scotland s political future Can the SNP, once the party of Scotland s oil , wean the country off the revenues of the North Sea? Last year, more than 90 per cent of Scotland’s electricity was generated by renewable energy sources such as onshore wind and hydroelectric power. The promise of a net-zero society by 2045 is a key element in the SNP’s manifesto. But the economic case for independence has long focused on “Scotland s oil”, as the SNP was keen to describe North Sea reserves in the 1970s. Now, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has to persuade the public that the oil of the North Sea can be replaced by Scotland’s wind.