I WOULD second Alan Fitzpatrick’s call for an independent study into the
cost of energy in an independent Scotland (Letters, July 2). It would come
down on the side of self-government.
A starting point could be in the Department of Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy regularly publishing a levelised cost estimate of
different electricity generation costs.
Levelised cost estimates for new generation projects since 2015 give
onshore wind a big price advantage.
Scotland has a substantial share of the UK’s cheaper onshore wind and we
have reasonable quantities of gas (much of which we export to England)
which could easily and cheaply be utilised in Combined Cycle Gas Turbine
(CCGT) electricity generation for backup. These combine a gas-fired turbine
with a steam one.
There are Contracts for Difference (CFD) agreements between electricity
suppliers and the UK Government that, in the event of independence, would
require renegotiating. Old plant would be even older and require up grading.
As Lyndsey McQuade was reported as having said on your Business Pages (June
30), ScottishPower Renewables is keen on a CFD onshore wind auction: “We
would see some breathtaking results in terms of really low pricing for
onshore wind”.
Transmission costs would also fall in Scotland, as they are set in London
to promote utilities to invest in electricity generation in the south of
England. Scotland should invest in utilising excess power in remote areas
in producing hydrogen. That can be used in a variety of roles from
transport to heating to driving turbines for electricity.
I also think Ian Moir (Letters, June 30) is wrong to assume the end of an
energy market both in the UK and further afield.
England imports electricity from many sources and has done for decades.
That won’t change, though France is to reduce its nuclear component and
Germany has a struggle to maintain energy at reasonable cost.
GR Weir, 17 Mill Street, Ochiltree.
IAN Moir claims that renewables in Scotland are 92 per cent subsidised by
England and that, on independence, all that beneficence will end.
His conclusion is that, if Scotland became independent our electricity
bills would go through the roof, almost bankrupting Scotland.
First, he should recognise that electricity generation policy is reserved
to Westminster.
If the Scottish Government was giving planning permission to any generation
schemes that did not suit Westminster we would soon hear about it.
Scotland’s onshore windfarms production goes a long way towards meeting
Westminster’s carbon reduction obligations Secondly, for renewables
subsidies there is a levelisation arrangement and these subsidies are
spread across all British consumers.
Although the Scottish Government was not consulted on the financial
arrangements for the building of the massively expensive Hinkley Point
nuclear power plant, under the levelisation arrangement Scotland will pay
its proportionate share of that subsidy cost; as it will for the £800
million annual subsidy given to the Drax power station in England to burn
millions of tons of wood pellets a year imported from the USA.
Finally, we are enjoying lovely sunny weather across Britain. There is a
massive amount of solar installation in the UK but almost all of it is in
England. Solar is a particularly highly subsidised renewable source of
electricity.
Last week the peak solar output across Britain reached 8,800MWs.
By my estimate, the total subsidy that will be paid out for all the
electricity produced by solar in the UK today will be around £9m.
Most will be paid out to middle-class households in the south of England,
but Scotland will again have to pay its proportionate share.
There are two sides to the subsidy coin.
Nick Dekker, 1 Nairn Way, Cumbernauld.
THERE is a link between the letter by Fraser Carlin, convener of the Royal
Town Planning Institute on local authority planning (June 29), and Ian
Moir’s on future wind turbine development within Scotland.
In some local authorities, for instance Orkney Islands Council, all
planning, both town and renewables, is handled in the same department.
Mr Carlin stresses that his institute sees the Planning Bill as an
“opportunity to put communities at the heart of planning”.
Unfortunately, under the legislation regarding renewables, “Proposals for
electricity developments are a matter for developers” (not local
authorities), according to a Scottish Parliament Information Centre briefing.
Proposals are considered and authorised only by Scottish ministers under
Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for all onshore generation
(including windfarms) greater than 50 Megawatts. This also applies to their
related overhead lines and infrastructure.
A 50MW windfarm would generate around only six watts per square metre peak
(two watts per square metre on average) and occupy around 8-10 sq
kilometres depending on the local topography.
A public local inquiry can be sought if the local authority maintains an
objection but the final decision is still by Scottish ministers assisted by
the Scottish Government energy consents unit A decision can only be
challenged by seeking a judicial review which, of course, only assesses
whether the legislative procedure has been properly adhered to and which
cannot overturn the ministers’ decision otherwise.
Developments rated less than 50MW are considered under the Town and Country
Planning Act 1997 but it is the developers who will determine how big an
installation they consider is economic for them to apply for and not the
local authority.
Applications for greater than 50MW therefore enable developers to
effectively sidestep local concerns.
In the 2014 legislation it is noteworthy that Scottish ministers can also
direct that a development authorised under the Electricity Act 1989 also
benefits from “deemed planning permission”.
That is, ministers can direct that planning permission has been deemed to
be granted, subject to any conditions ministers consider appropriate,
without the need for the developers to separately apply for planning
permission.
So much for there being an “opportunity to put communities at the heart of
planning” when it comes to the inexorable development to date of wind
turbine generation.
DB Watson, Saviskaill, Langdales Ave, Cumbernauld.
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