Researchers wanted for islands renewables study

THE UK government is seeking interested parties to carry out a study into the obstacles faced by renewable energy developers from the Scottish islands.

The study will inform a new government/industry steering group commissioned by UK energy minister Ed Davey, who visited Shetland and Orkney in October last year.

For years the renewables industry has been complaining that projects are not coming forward quickly enough, partly because of the huge cost of connecting islands to the mainland transmission network.

Island renewables projects have to pay up to seven times more than their mainland counterparts for deeding electricity into the grid.

The study, due to be commissioned later this month and finalised by 27 March, will assess:

• the commercial viability of renewable projects (particularly onshore wind and marine) on the Scottish islands within existing support frameworks;

• the wider economic value of renewables projects on the Scottish islands and their potential to make a cost-effective contribution to renewables targets and other objectives;

• the barriers to development of renewable projects and why more projects are not coming forward; and

• barriers and identify broadly costed options for actions to tackle them, so that an initial assessment can be made of their value for money compared with alternative sources of renewable and low carbon power.

The work will also take account of the emerging conclusions of the Ofgem review of transmission charging (Project TransmiT).

The contract value was given as between £10,000 and £100,000.