David Ross
Highland Correspondent
A DECISION by SSE to limit its commitment to offshore wind energy projects
round Scotland’s coast has sparked concern over future development in the
sector.
The company said it was shelving its proposal to develop a 690MW offshore
wind farm off the coast of Islay, saying that while it would continue to
work with stakeholders, it “will not be investing further in the project in
the foreseeable future”.
It will continue to support the development of its SeaGreen project for two
wind farm areas in the Firth of Forth until it secures government consents
for their construction.
SSE will also seek to reduce its 75% stake in the 750 MW Beatrice project
off the coast of Caithness, which got the green light last week, to no more
than 50%. Spanish oil and gas firm Repsol owns the remaining 25%.
The energy giant said it was taking the decision until it was sufficiently
confident in the viability of the offshore wind sector.
Jim Smith, SSE’s managing director for generation development, said there
were two major, related hurdles that offshore wind projects had to
overcome. One was a cap on how much can be levied in fuel bills, which he
said meant there was “limited support” for offshore wind. He said the
second was cost, with offshore wind farm development depending on a
sustainable and lower cost supply chain.
Lindsay Leask, senior policy manager at industry body Scottish Renewables,
said the news underlined the uncertainty developers had about the future of
the offshore wind sector, and that strong support from the Scottish and UK
Governments was key to the sector’s future.
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