By Patricia Hawthorn
On the day of Scottish Renewables’ Offshore Wind Conference in Glasgow, and
in the week so many of us have celebrated the life and works of the
wonderful Robert Burns, I find myself reflecting on the well-kent words:
“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought
but grief an’ pain, for promis’d joy!”
Walking into the Court of Session last May for the commencement of the
judicial review hearing for the four offshore wind farm projects in the
Firths of Forth and Tay ranks as one of the all-time low moments in my
legal career. There we were, two groups – the first committed to tackling
climate change and delivering offshore wind farms in Scotland in an
environmentally acceptable way and the second committed to tackling climate
change and protecting sea birds in Scotland – relinquishing the fate of an
important and fledgling industry to an eminent judge and some excellent
Queen’s Counsel, who may or may not be committed to tackling climate change
or delivering offshore wind farms or, indeed, protecting our sea birds.
There was much media interest ahead of the hearing, but we were not there
to argue about the merits of the projects or the industry or the long term
wellbeing of the birds. We spent eight long days listening to argument
about whether due process had been complied with in making the decisions to
grant consent for the projects in October 2014.
We do not have a decision yet from the judge. I hope it comes soon and it
gives us a clear and positive way forward for delivering these projects,
which we must do in harmony with all concerned stakeholders and our natural
environment.
To focus just on this legal barrier for the Forth and Tay projects would be
to ignore the other challenge to the successful delivery of offshore wind
in Scotland, securing the all-important Contract for Difference. Broadly
speaking, this is the mechanism used to provide low-carbon generators with
greater certainty and stability of revenues and to attract investment for
the projects. One of the projects in the Forth and Tay secured its Contract
for Difference last March in the first auction, so it is positioned to
reach financial close and commence construction, subject to the
satisfactory resolution of the judicial review.
The remaining Forth and Tay projects, along with another excellent project
in the Moray Firth consented in March 2014, await an opportunity to bid for
their Contract for Difference. Thankfully, there are increasingly strong
signs that the UK Government will end many months of what has been termed
profound uncertainty and run another auction in the final quarter of this
year.
Robert Burns is also credited with the following robust words: “Firmness in
enduring and exertion is a character I always wish to possess. I have
always despised the whining yelp of complaint and cowardly resolve.”
Having had a low moment in May, by the turn of the year I had recovered my
unrelenting optimism about Scotland’s ability to shine in this global
market. There is one more project in the Moray Firth with consent and an
early Contract for Difference racing for financial close. The focus and
effort behind this is apparent to all, as it is on the many projects under
construction and approaching construction in UK waters. These are
enormously valuable investments in our economy.
I have seen over the last year the work that continues behind the scenes on
the other projects in Scottish waters. I see the efforts through the
Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult based in Glasgow to support the
development of new technologies and share knowledge and experience in the
industry. And we will be well placed to take full advantage of this work
when these projects do finally clear the legal and political obstacles in
their path.
But perhaps it has been witnessing first-hand the keen interest of
investors and funders from all over the world in our projects that has
really restored my faith. They have done their due diligence. They agree
the wind resource here is terrific and the projects are technically
feasible; not easy, but feasible. Let 2016 be the year we snatch victory
from the jaws of defeat in an honourable and sustainable way.
Patricia Hawthorn is chairman of Scottish Renewables and a partner in
Shepherd and Wedderburn law firm.
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