Scotland
Whichever way the Scottish people voted, a number of questions were likely to remain about energy and renewables policy
Independence vote looms large over renewables debate
As this issue of OWJ went to press, debate continued about the effect that the independence referendum might have on the energy market and renewables industry in Scotland
AS the people of Scotland prepared to vote in the Scottish independence referendum on 18 September 2014, opinions differed significantly about what a ‘yes’ vote might mean for the energy market in the UK as a whole and the offshore wind sector in Scotland in particular. UK energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey has argued that an independent Scotland would have to compete with other countries if it wanted to export energy to the UK. Mr Davey also went on record to say that an independent Scotland might not be able to access UK subsidy mechanisms, and it remains unclear to what extent renewable energy from an independent Scotland might or might not be fed into the UK energy market. There have also been indications that a single British
energy market could continue in the event of a ‘yes’ vote, according to renewable energy investor The Renewables Infrastructure Group (Trig), but others doubted whether this would be possible. In its interim results, Trig noted that the UK Government had not formalised contingency positions for a ‘yes’ vote in the independence referendum. “Thus, there is an absence of clarity on what aspects of the electricity and renewables regulations and policy would change and what any new arrangements would be following any secession,” Trig said.
16 I Offshore Wind Journal I 3rd Quarter 2014 “While there can be no certainty that the politics evident
in some pre-referendum positioning might not spill over into enacted policies, potentially damaging to the renewables markets, several factors contribute to a robust view on the future of the subsidy regime in a separate Scotland, should this be the case.” Trig said that these include the capability for Scotland to deliver a substantial part of the UK’s overall renewables and power requirements – mainly from onshore wind – which, it said, “generally operates with high capacity factors and therefore economic efficiency in Scotland”. The energy investor also highlighted the economic significance of the renewables and broader energy industries in Scotland, coupled with the cost effectiveness of onshore wind in Scotland versus other renewables options of solar PV in England and offshore wind. As Trig also noted, “The UK has an excellent and long-standing reputation in the credit markets,” and the UK and Scotland “will have a strong desire and motivation to maintain this standing at this important juncture,” it concluded.
One well known expert, Dr David Toke, reader in energy politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, called for energy powers to be devolved in Scotland even if there was a ‘no’ vote on 18 September. According to Dr Toke, a Scottish energy regulator would boost renewable energy (and also, potentially, energy- efficiency programmes) by allowing Scottish authorities to alter regulations to allow electricity network companies to be more proactive in investing in upgrades. Dr Toke has published many papers in leading political science journals on environmental, especially energy (and renewable energy) issues, and he is a frequent and well cited contributor to the journal Energy Policy. He is also a member of the Claverton Group of energy experts. In a letter to the Sunday Herald, Dr Toke and others said
renewable energy projects are saddled with high charges for connecting their projects to networks because the costs of
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