The UK Government must work closely with its Scottish counterpart to secure the future of the hydropower industry, according to the Scottish business, innovation and energy minister, Paul Wheelhouse.
He said: “Hydro generation in 2015 was at a record high level – 5,780 GWh, up 6.3% on 2014. But the hydro sector is at a crossroads, with a number of exciting developments opening, but with some future investments, especially in small scale hydro, at risk due to changes in subsidies, brought in by the UKG [UK government], putting jobs at risk in many rural communities.”
Speaking during a visit to a pumped hydro storage plant at Foyers, Wheelhouse stressed the role pumped hydro storage could play in Scotland’s energy system and called for closer working between the two governments to extend pumped storage capacity.
“As well as being able to further support peak demand, expanded pumped hydro storage would also be able to effectively store greater levels of electricity at times when renewable energy output is high but demand is low. However, this part of the hydropower industry requires substantial government support – not the kind of extra hurdles that changes in subsidies from the UK government have put in place. That is why I am using this visit to urge the UK government to do all that is can to support the real and continued potential in this energy resource,” he said.
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