Ewing angry at Scotland-free wind list for FID contracts

Dec 20, 2013 - Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing today urged the UK government to reverse their decision not to include any wind projects off Scotland in the list of 10 schemes that will get a Final Investment Decision (FID) contract.

On Thursday the UK government unveiled the names of 10 bioenergy and on- and offshore wind projects that are “provisionally affordable” under the Final Investment Decision Enabling for Renewables (FIDER) plan. There is not a single Scottish offshore wind project in the list. Ewing said he would write to Secretary of State Ed Davey to have the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) decision reversed.

“Developing a new industry is challenging under any circumstances, but the UK Government is increasing those challenges,” Ewing said. He warned that the UK’s decision would affect Scotland’s ability to release the power of offshore wind and will also contribute to additional uncertainty for developers and investors.

Ewing also laudedstatistics released this week showing that Scotland has met with renewables the record-breaking 40.3% of gross electricity demand in 2012. That confirms that it is well on the way to meet its 50% interim target by 2015. The Scottish Energy Minister further criticised the British government for “being hell-bent on ploughing billions into nuclear power stations” and thus trimming the amount of funds available to support renewable energy.

Via the FIDER the DECC is working with project developers to avoid “hiatus” in low-carbon power generation investments during Britain’s Electricity Market Reform (EMR). Recently the government unveiled the strike prices, or the power purchase rates, under the new contracts for difference (CFDs) scheme that is to replace the renewable obligation for all new projects from April 2017.

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