By Lindsay Roberts, Senior Policy Manager, Scottish Renewables
With two-thirds of the UK’s onshore capacity and an offshore sector now getting steel in the water, Scotland has long been a leading champion of the wind sector.
The country is the birthplace of wind-powered electricity generation and the windiest place in Europe, with 25% of the continent’s offshore wind resource.
Scotland has capitalised on that to deliver economic and environmental benefits across the country.
The Conservative manifesto commitment to end new subsidy for onshore wind locked both it and large-scale solar – our two cheapest renewable energy technologies – out of the energy market.
With costs continuing to fall, however, a report from Baringa Partners, commissioned by Scottish Renewables, found that the UK Government could deliver 1GW of new onshore wind capacity at no additional cost to consumers over and above the long-term wholesale price of power.
The report’s conclusions are dependent on mature renewables being able to bid in future auctions for long-term contracts for clean electricity such as those offered to offshore wind and the new nuclear facility at Hinkley Point.
