Scotland: UK Industrial Strategy Should Prioritise Renewable Energy Investment

Scotland’s Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, has called on the UK government to ensure that renewable energy investment is a key priority in their forthcoming Industrial Strategy.

Renewable energy resources have grown to become a major industrial sector in Scotland, with 14,000 people, among a total of 43,500 in low carbon sectors, in highly skilled jobs across the renewable energy sector, and with an annual turnover of over GBP 5.4 billion in 2014, the Scottish government said.

“Scotland’s renewable sector, and all who work in it or who supply the sector, need the same level of commitment from the UK Government which, despite our repeated calls, has failed to match our level of ambition and indeed since the 2015 general election they have cut support dramatically for hydro and wind energy projects,” Wheelhouse said.

“For our renewable industry to thrive, and to continue to contribute economic growth and tax revenues the UK Government must acknowledge the compelling economic arguments for continued investment and support.”

Wheelhouse went on to say that Scotland has a pipeline of consented projects awaiting final investment decisions which would provide hundreds of millions of pounds of engineering and construction activity.

These projects should be developed at the earliest opportunity and at the lowest cost to the consumer, Wheelhouse said.

“We now need the UK Government to ensure projects have a route to market and remove the uncertainty around timing and eligibility across sectors, including Remote Island Wind, onshore wind, wave and tidal, while there is no price stabilisation mechanism for pumped hydro storage energy as yet either,” Wheelhouse said.

“We need to question the UK Government’s commitment to renewables as a result. They have the opportunity to put an end to this uncertainty by placing renewable investment at the very heart of their long awaited Industrial Strategy.”