News Release
Embargoed until 20.00 hrs
Call for Climate Change Bill to Terminate Uncontrolled Windfarm Subsidy
Director of Ramblers’ Association Scotland, Dave Morris, will today call for the forthcoming Climate Change Bill to terminate the massive public subsidy that supports giant wind turbine development in Scotland.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Ochils (14 Nov) (1) Dave Morris will urge both Scottish and Westminster politicians to halt the wind farm gravy train.
Dave Morris will say:
“The Chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has described the financial support regime for wind farms as “an uncontrolled public subsidy”. (2) There is no better demonstration of the effect of this subsidy than in the activities of energy giant Scottish Power. As this company leads the assault on Scotland’s world famous landscape its Chief Executive, Philip Bowman, announces massive profits (3) and pleads desperately for the subsidy to continue. Scottish Power would not be starting the development of their Greenknowes windfarm in the Ochils without the financial support provided by the Renewables Obligation (4).
Dave Morris will explain how the opportunity is at hand to strip away the financial support behind giant wind farms:
“The UK Government is expected to announce a Climate Change Bill (5) in the forthcoming Queen’s speech. With this Bill comes the opportunity to press for a complete overhaul of the Renewables Obligation. A new type of Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) needs to be introduced urgently. Public funding support for large-scale wind farms should be removed with the support diverted instead to small-scale community wind turbine projects along with other renewable development options. The place for 100 metre wind turbines is well offshore, not on our hills and mountains.”
Finally Dave Morris will comment on the prospective take over of Scottish Power by Spanish energy company Iberdrola:
“It would be a ghastly irony if Iberdrola were to take over Scottish Power. This is a company that has been at the forefront of wind farm development in Spain. Now the Spanish Government has pulled the plug on public subsidy for wind farm development (6) it is not surprising that Iberdrola is eyeing up alternatives in the wildland of Scotland. They must realise that our ROCs are gleaming with gold, courtesy of a UK Government policy that puts private profit before public good. It is high time that Scottish Power and the other energy giants were left stuck on the ROCs, with no financial future in large scale land based wind farm development.”
ENDS
Notes:
- AGM location: Town Hall Alloa, 19.00hrs, 14 November 2006
- House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Sixth Report, Department of Trade and Industry: Renewable energy 15 September 2005
- Scottish Power has announced a 77 per cent rise in first half year profits. The energy supplier revealed adjusted pre-tax profits during the six months to September 30th of £483 million, up from £273 million a year earlier.
"We support the development of mechanisms, such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the UK Renewables Obligation, that provide industry with the long-term certainty necessary to underpin investment. However, we are concerned that unexpected revisions to these mechanisms could damage investor confidence.”
"These results also reflect the benefit of our investment in wind farms. The completion of two additional projects, Black Law II (27 MW) and Beinn Tharsuinn (29 MW) increased operational capacity to 344 MW, reinforcing our position as the UK's leading onshore wind developer. In addition, we have begun construction on Whitelee (322 MW) and Wether Hill (18 MW). Whitelee will be the largest onshore wind farm in Europe. We currently have 464 MW under construction or with planning consents. As a result, we either operate or have approvals for 808 MW, representing over 80% of our 2010 target.”
- The Renewables Obligation is a legal requirement for electricity supply companies to buy a set percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources. This percentage is set to rise annually, to a level of around 15% in 2015. The extra costs incurred in meeting the obligation are transferred to consumers through their bills.
The Renewables Obligation, while outstandingly effective in bringing forward projects for generating electricity from renewable energy sources, is encouraging on-shore wind turbines as the almost exclusive means of producing this renewable power.
- Climate Change Bill: A climate change bill is likely to be included in the Queen's Speech which will be given tomorrow, 15 November 2006.
See: UK Planning Law on Climate Change and Ministers bow to pressure for Climate Bill
- Twin pillars of Spanish wind market axed -- decree removes wind subsidy and price guarantee
The legal basis of the production incentives driving Spain's wind market is now time bombed to disappear in the new year thanks to a new energy law, put together behind the industry's back and passed by government emergency decree. The law will remove the twin pillars supporting the market-a production incentive payment and the safety net of a guaranteed minimum purchase price. Confidence in the Spanish wind market, one of the world's top three, is "shattered" says an industry spokesman. "Projects that should have closed in the past few weeks have been paralysed and others annulled."
Abstract of article in the September Windpower Monthly:
