Charge cut ‘not enough’

PROPOSALS to cut transmission charges in the north of Scotland and the islands will not be enough to ensure Shetland’s Viking Energy wind farm will proceed, according to industry body Scottish Renewables.

On Thursday energy regulator Ofgem said it was minded to cut transmission costs for the north of Scotland by more than 50 per cent from £25 per kilowatt to just over £12.

However under the proposals, islands would be expected to pay more to cover the extra cost of building subsea interconnector cables to export their electricity.

Viking Energy and other island renewable developers are putting more store in the UK government’s announcement in June that they would set a minimum “strike” price for island generators.

Scottish Renewable chief executive Niall Stuart said the Ofgem charging proposal would not see a single island renewables project being taken forward.

“We still therefore need the UK government to see through its commitment to introduce a financial support mechanism specifically for the Scottish islands to help them manage the burden of continuing high transmission costs,” he said.

“There is also a risk that transmission charges will creep back up over the next few years, with Ofgem proposing that Scottish generators be left to pick up the full costs of two new subsea connections despite the fact that these are vital to the UK meeting its renewable energy targets.”