Recent changes in Government renewable energy policy have created uncertainty that could threaten the industry’s prospects for further growth, the Scottish Affairs Committee said in a report published today.
The report, which looked at the renewable energy sector in Scotland, warned that recent changes to subsidies for renewables and uncertainty about future support have affected the confidence of investors supporting the deployment of new generating capacity. The committee found the removal of subsidy for onshore wind “particularly troubling”.
The committee found that the previously supportive policy environment had helped the renewables sector in Scotland to grow and attract investment. The sector employs an estimated 21,000 people and produces almost 30% of the UK’s renewable electricity.
The lack of clarity about renewables policy has exacerbated long-standing concerns in Scotland surrounding transmission costs, according to the committee. Renewable generators in rural areas or on the Scottish Islands, face inadequate grid connections and high transmission charges to reach the urban areas where electricity is most needed. The committee called on Ofgem to look into levelling connection costs across the UK and recommended that the UK Government take action to support the improvement of infrastructure between the Scottish Islands and the mainland.
On publishing the report, committee chair Pete Wishart commented: “This report considers several policy changes the UK Government has made to support for renewables—early closure of the Renewables Obligation for solar and onshore wind, cutting support through Feed-in-Tariffs, and delaying the next round of Contracts for Difference—which we found have weakened investor confidence in the renewable sector, and put at risk opportunities for future growth.
“We have urged the Government to clarify the future support which will be available to the renewable sector, and set out how they will work with the Scottish Government to develop a clear, long-term plan that will allow renewable energy to remain a central part of the energy mix.
He added the report was written before Teresa May scrapped the Department of Energy and Climate Change and moved responsibility for energy policy into the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He commented that: “This change indicates a troubling shift in the Government’s priorities. I hope that the Government’s response to our report will go some way to allaying these fears.”
Read the full report: click here
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