Magnus Gardham
Political Editor
NICOLA Sturgeon has appealed for more UK Government funding for windfarms
off the Scottish coast – as new figures showed renewable energy provided
just five per cent of the country’s electricity at the end of last year.
The First Minister said sustained support for offshore wind production was
required to bring the price down.
Speaking ahead of a visit to the giant Whitelee wind farm, near Glasgow,
she warned the UK’s budget for offshore wind was insufficient to support
the development of the industry in Scotland.
The UK Government last week announced the results of its latest auction of
contracts for new green energy projects.
Eleven of the 27 winning schemes were in Scotland, including the planned
Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind project in the Firth of Forth.
However, two offshore wind schemes in the North of Scotland, which could
not promise such cost effective electricity, lost out and will re-apply in
the next Contracts for Difference auction.
Ms Sturgeon said onshore wind power was now cheaper to produce than nuclear
power, but only as a result of sustained investment from public funds.
Citing the success of the Firth of Forth scheme and a proposed Scottish
Power project off the coast of East Anglia in the latest bidding round, she
said: “These projects demonstrate the value of developing this industry:
real jobs, clean electricity and valuable contracts for suppliers.
“The UK Government must now show greater ambition for the Scottish offshore
sector.
“It is essential that the UK Government provide confidence to the offshore
wind industry that sufficient money will be available in future allocation
rounds to allow the sector to move forward with assurance and enable costs
to be further reduced.”
The call came amid renewed speculation over Scotland’s long term energy
supply, as 55 per cent of the country’s generating capacity is due to be
lost within a decade.
Ms Sturgeon yesterday highlighted figures showing renewable sources
provided 44 per cent of Scotland’s energy needs last year.
However, new figures from National Grid, obtained by Labour’s energy
spokesman Tom Greatrex, showed the level dipping dramatically on some days.
On Boxing Day last year, just one per cent of Scotland’s electricity came
from green power sources. Between December 25 and 28 it accounted for five
per cent.
According to the National Grid figures, Scotland is also importing
electricity from England much more frequently than in the past, with power
flowing south to north on one day in every six.
Scotland’s reliance on England, during periods when the wind does not blow,
will become even greater when Longannet power station in Fife ceases
production.
The giant coal-fired station is due to close by 2020 at the latest as part
of the UK’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it emerged
last week it could shut as early as next year if the cost of hooking it up
to grid is not reduced.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics show yesterday, Scottish Government
energy minister Fergus Ewing said Scotland needed a “balanced mix of
supply,” including a new gas power station or a coal-fired power station
that could be coupled to carbon capture technology to eliminate emissions.
However he was unable to give a clear timescale for developing new facilities.
Mr Greatrex, the MP for Rutherglen, said he would support the construction
of a new nuclear power station in Scotland if an energy firm applied to
build one after the ageing Hunterston and Torness facilities reached the
end of their lives in 2023.
He said: “We have an increasingly unbalanced energy mix in Scotland and if
we were not part of a GB system we would be in trouble.
“The SNP’s energy policy is based on hype over fact.”
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