Scotland Invests GBP 750 Million in Renewables in Last Twelve Months

New figures from Scottish Renewables show that £750 million of new renewable electricity projects began generating in Scotland in the last twelve months.

The figures are highlighted in a submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee as part of their analysis of the Draft Scottish Budget.

Commenting on Scottish Renewables’ submission to the Scottish Government’s Budget 2011-12 and Spending Review 2012-13, Niall Stuart, Chief Executive, said: “Renewable energy is clearly one of Scotland’s key growth sectors, a major part of our energy mix and a significant part of our economy.

 “Over the last twelve months, installed capacity has gone from 3,920MW to more than 4,620MW, driven by 465MW of new onshore wind developments.

 “The capital value of the renewable electricity projects that have begun generating in the last year alone is some £750m.”

The report also sets out a potential future pipeline of renewable electricity projects with a capital value of around £46 billion.

 Niall Stuart added: “The plans for continued private sector investment in onshore wind, and expansion of offshore wind, wave, tidal, biomass and hydro, add up to some £46 billion capital investment.

 “This is in addition to proposals by grid operators to invest £7 billion in electricity networks to replace ageing infrastructure, connect new generation and increase inter-connections with England and other parts of the UK, and for around 1,000MW of new pumped storage.

 “Delivery of even a proportion of these projects will make renewables a key driver of capital investment in Scotland over the next decade.”

Niall Stuart warned that although Scottish Renewables has identified massive potential there remains a number of barriers to investment.

He said: “Renewables is a massive economic, employment and environmental opportunity for Scotland. Limited public sector investment will be necessary to harness this through resourcing planning authorities, infrastructure and skills, and we believe there is a strong case for existing and new incentives to support investment in the sector.”

He also hit out at those that are blaming renewables for increases in energy prices:

 “The latest research shows that onshore wind and other renewables are competitive with other forms of low carbon electricity.

 “Both the independent regulator Ofgem and the UK Government have stated clearly that recent increases in consumer bills are down to massive hikes in gas prices – not investment in renewables. Indeed there is a growing body of evidence that more renewables could actually keep bills down for consumers if we see fossil fuel prices continue to rise.”

[mappress]

Source: scottishrenewables, November 01, 2011