INVESTMENT in new marine energy projects is being threatened by rising charges to connect the schemes to the electricity grid, the head of Scotland’s renewable power trade body warns today.
Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, says the annual charges for connecting wave and tidal energy projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters are estimated to rise from £56 million last year to £107m in 2020.
He added: “This contrasts with an annual subsidy of £2m if these projects were to be built in the south-west of England – the UK’s other marine energy park.”
Scotland’s first marine energy park was unveiled in July in the Pentland Firth between Orkney and Caithness, with the aim of boosting development of wave and tidal power in Scotland.
UK energy minister Greg Barker said at the time that marine power has the potential to sustain thousands of jobs in a sector worth up to £15 billion to the economy by 2050.
Although Stuart said a review by energy regulator Ofgem has improved matters for generators on the mainland, he noted that charges on the islands were set to rocket, adding significant costs and threatening the economic viability of wave and tidal projects that are in their early stages of development. Speaking ahead of today’s Marine Energy Conference in Inverness, he said: “Ofgem’s review was expected to bring down charges for renewable generation given its commitment to ‘facilitate the move to a low carbon energy sector’.
“However, we are seeing charges on the islands continue to increase, dwarfing those on the mainland.”
