Cuts to subsidies for small-scale hydro developments could impact Scottish projects worth £23 million, according to industry body Scottish Renewables.
The group warned that a backlog of licence applications for new hydropower schemes meant many projects could be subjected to a lower feed-in tariff than they had expected and called on an anticipated 20% reduction in financial support from April to be postponed.
It said the industry wants the delay so the high number of proposals “caught up in the planning system do not disproportionately affect support for future schemes”.
The process, Scottish Renewables said, has been hit by the “significant delays and uncertainty” caused by a UK Government review of the FiT scheme during 2011 and 2012.
“The hydropower sector understands the need for the UK Government to cut the cost of the FiT scheme, however, the problem is this system is unsuitable for hydro and should be delayed for at least a year,” said the body’s senior policy manager Joss Blamire.
The firm behind Perthshire’s Allt Mor Hydro scheme say it fears a “very real threat” to the business.
“We have been working with partners on the 330kW Allt Mor Hydro scheme at Kinloch Rannoch for more than two years and invested more than £70,000,” said Mr Hydro director Adrian Loening.
“The threat to our business is very real with as much as £50,000 being lost every year if the 20% cut is applied.”
The call came as energy minister Fergus Ewing welcomed a new study which showed Scotland was now generating just over 4% of its total heat requirement from renewable sources.