Scottish Renewables today set out its post-referendum ‘devolution asks’.
Following the result of last Thursday’s referendum, the company called on the UK and Scottish governments to give the energy sector more powers. During the marine energy conference in Inverness today, the firm laid out the areas of the energy sector it feels should be delivered more power.
Six key areas were detailed in a paper titled Harnessing Scotland’s Energy. These areas include Energy Policy, Regulation, Connecting Scotland’s Islands, Shared Ownership, Marine Energy Funding and the Crown Estate.
Niall Stuart, chief executive of the company said: “Given the importance of the contribution that Scotland and the other devolved nations will make to the UK’s energy ambitions, and the growing importance of the sector to all our economies, we believe that it is time for a more coordinated and strategic approach to the formation of energy policy across the UK.
“This should reflect our respective strengths, resources and priorities, and be designed to deliver the optimal energy mix for the UK as we seek to keep down costs for consumers, increase energy security and cut carbon emissions.
“If there is one obvious failure of the current regulation of our industry it is the lack of grid connections to Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles – home to the country’s best wind resources, and key to the development of wave and tidal power.”
The Crown Estate said last week that it was happy to take part in any future discussions about its control of Scottish territorial waters following the poll.
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