Deal puts wind power back in the market for Contracts for Difference
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Scotland's lead in onshore wind power will be cemented following a UK government policy u-turn, industry body Scottish Renewables has claimed.
The decision – which will allow new wind farms to compete for contracts to sell the power they generate – ends a four-year hiatus, which the industry says has stalled further development of the sector.
Onshore wind and solar projects will be able to take part in the next round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, which opens in 2021. New projects could be up and running from the mid 2020s if they are successful.
Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: "This announcement is recognition that, as Scottish Renewables and others have said for many years, onshore wind and solar PV provide the cheapest way to tackle climate change while delivering economic benefits across the UK.
“Onshore wind employs 5800 people in Scotland in highly-skilled, green jobs of the future. As we seek to meet our net-zero targets in the most cost-effective way, this technology has a key role to play.
“Scotland, with its enviable wind resource, is already home to the majority of the UK’s onshore wind power. We also have the majority of its consented capacity – that is, wind farms with planning permission, which are ready to build today.”
Scotland is already the UK’s onshore wind powerhouse, with around 58 per cent of its installed capacity (8.1GW out of 14.1GW), as well as 80 per cent of its consented capacity (3.9GW of 4.9GW).
The UK government’s own studies consistently show that the popularity of onshore wind is growing, with 78 per cent of people across the country saying they support the use of onshore wind. A Scottish Renewables study in 2018 showed those attitudes are reflected in rural Scotland, too, with only 11 per cent of rural Scots saying they were opposed to new onshore wind farms.
Friends of the Earth Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon added: “This looks like great news for renewables in Scotland and will help us get to 100 per cent of our electricity coming from a range of renewable energy technologies. We need to see the details but there are lots of large and small wind farm schemes that have been stalled for years because the UK government cut support for onshore wind.
“Rapidly boosting renewables is essential in the fight against climate change. We need clean power to heat our homes and run transport systems so that we can phase out the use of fossil fuels completely.”
Ms Mack added that the agreement does not mean wind farms will be subsidised by bill payers.
She said: “Access to the Contracts for Difference mechanism does not mean subsidy. These most competitive of projects will be delivered at prices far below the wholesale cost of power, with a Scottish Renewables study in 2017 showing they will actually deliver money back to government.
“Our robust planning system has already delivered gigawatts of onshore wind while giving communities a say on their construction. We have already called for communities to be involved earlier in the planning process so it’s good news that today’s announcement will strengthen that principle.
“We now look forward to working with other stakeholders, including communities, the Scottish Government and our 32 local authorities, to make sure that onshore wind projects can deliver economic and environmental benefits across Scotland.”
