Scotland’s energy minister said today that the country’s hydro power sector was “at a crossroads” due to UK Government subsidy cuts.
During a visit to a hydro storage plant at Foyers, near Loch Ness, Paul Wheelhouse, urged the UK Government to work closely with Holyrood to secure the industry’s future.
The Conservative Government has been criticised by green groups for reducing payments for electricity generation to existing small-scale wind, hydro and solar projects via the Feed-in Tariff system.
Mr Wheelhouse said: “Hydro generation in 2015 was at a record high level – 5,780 GWh, up 6.3% on 2014.
“But the hydro sector is at a crossroads, with a number of exciting developments opening, but with some future investments, especially in small scale hydro, at risk due to changes in subsidies, brought in by the UKG, putting jobs at risk in many rural communities.
“As well as being able to further support peak demand, expanded pumped hydro storage would also be able to effectively store greater levels of electricity at times when renewable energy output is high but demand is low.
“However, this part of the hydropower industry requires substantial government support – not the kind of extra hurdles that changes in subsidies from the UK Government have put in place.
“That is why I am using this visit to urge the UK Government to do all that is can to support the real and continued potential in this energy resource.”
Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said: “Along with efforts to reduce electricity demand and strengthen interconnectors, increasing our hydro-pumped storage capacity will help make the most of Scotland’s abundant renewables and help deliver a fossil-fuel free power system.
“That is why the UK and Scottish governments need to work with industry to incentivise investment in pumped storage.
“Independent research has shown that Scotland can have a safe and secure electricity supply with almost entirely renewable electricity generation in 2030.
“The Scottish Government’s forthcoming energy strategy is the perfect opportunity to set out a bold vision for how we could become Europe’s first 100% renewable electricity nation by 2030, ensuring that we continue to harvest the benefits of our renewable electricity revolution.”
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