WIREDGOV

Meeting follows UK Govt decision on onshore subsidies.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has invited his UK counterpart to Scotland to discuss the impact of the UK Government’s decision to end onshore wind subsidies under the Renewables Obligation.

Mr Ewing extended the invitation during a meeting with Energy Secretary Amber Rudd in London this morning.

Last week’s decision was met with outcry by the Scottish industry who claimed it ‘could cost £3 billion investment in Scotland’ while the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (Scotland) said yesterday this decision ‘puts as many as 3,000 full-time jobs at risk, particularly in remote areas where alternativeemployment is hard to find.’

Mr Ewing has invited the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, to Scotland to meet with developers and communities who have invested significant amounts of money in renewables schemes and have now found the goal posts have been moved.

The First Minister has also written to the Prime Minister asking him to ‘look again at the impact these proposals will have on the Scottish and the wider UK economy and find an alternative approach.’

Mr Ewing, who is in London to attend the Global Offshore Wind 2015 conference, said:

“The decision taken by the UK Government to close the Renewables Obligation early for the onshore wind sector will have a negative impact on the renewables industry in Scotland and potentially on the thousands of people who work in it.

“The Scottish Government has been clear that onshore wind should be able to compete with other technologies through the ‘contracts for difference’ auction. To prevent the cheapest technologies from competing in the auction will not deliver the best price for the consumer and I have asked UK Government to provide clarity on this issue which is causing anxiety to the industry.

“During our meeting this morning I also invited the Secretary of State to Scotland to Scotland this summer to meet with the industry and developers. Since it was announced I have met with key representatives from the industry to listen to their concerns about the impact on both developers and the supply chain.

“I reiterated these points this morning during the meeting and stressed how important it was for the Scottish Government to be involved in how any changes to the Renewables Obligation is are developed, including maximum flexibility around grace periods for developments that could be affected. This is especially important as the decision will have a disproportionate impact on Scotland as around 70 per cent of onshore wind projects affected by the UK Government policy change are located here.”