Scotland’s offshore wind industry has warned of “growing uncertainty” in the sector, thanks to a lack of detail on new subsidy regimes and the failure of Scottish ministers to give planning consent for new arrays.
Ahead of the start of its 900-delegate annual conference in Aberdeen on Tuesday, umbrella body Scottish Renewables revealed investment in the sector had halved to around £29m last year as commitment eased in an uncertain investment environment.
The warning came just days after energy giant SSE said it would undertake a full-scale review of its offshore wind portfolio after describing the UK generation sector as “not encouraging”.
Much of Scotland’s east coast including Angus, Dundee and Fife has significant interests in the industry, with high hopes for further direct investment and supply chain benefits through the development of a string of wind arrays within striking distance of the coast.
SSE is co-signatory to a 2011 memorandum of understanding on the development of the Port of Dundee, while Samsung Heavy Industries have established a test-bed for the world’s largest offshore wind turbine just off the coast of Methil.
Like Dundee, the Port of Montrose has already attracted work through the import of turbine components.
Scottish Renewables’ senior policy manager Lindsay Leask said investment totals fell 55% last year when compared to the £64m spent during 2012, and warned that huge windfarm projects with the potential to power millions of homes could not afford to be “left in limbo”.For more from James Williamson at Offshore Wind & Supply Chain conference in Aberdeen see Wednesday’s Courier or try our digital edition“Uncertainty throughout the industry is growing as none of the major projects planned for Scottish waters have had their planning applications determined yet, and the details around accessing market incentives are still unclear,” she said.
“With around five gigawatts of potential offshore wind development in planning enough to meet the annual demand of three million homes we can’t afford to see these projects, and the investment decisions related to them, left in limbo.”
She said Scotland had all the ingredients required to develop a “leading offshore wind industry”, with investment coming forward in spite of “challenges”.
“Yet a reduction of some 55% in a year is cause for concern not only for the sector, but should also be a worrying sign for the Scottish and UK governments too,” Ms Leask added.
“We’ll be working hard over the coming weeks with governments north and south of the border to ensure the developers gain the certainty they need to unlock further investment.”
This time last year, a trio of offshore wind developers anticipated planning consent during the second half of 2013, but no permissions have yet been issued.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said he believed “very strongly” that recent subsidy announcements from the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change were flawed, and called on his Westminster counterpart Ed Davey to revisit the calls made by his department.
“We continue to seek improvements to the process of assessing applications for offshore wind developments, and I hope to receive recommendations from Marine Scotland in relation to developments in the Moray Firth,” he added.
“The Scottish Government is fully committed to maximising our offshore wind potential, and there have been a number of positive developments over the past year, including the introduction of the £15m Scottish Innovative Foundation Technologies Fund to support pioneering substructures, and the installation of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine at Methil.”
Scottish Renewables’ Offshore Wind: Investing in Scotland 2013 analysis, published yesterday, also highlights positive news including “next generation” turbines under testing at Methil and Hunterston in Ayrshire, and a green light for developing floating turbines off Peterhead.