SCOTLAND must be able to export electricity generated from renewable sources if the Continent is to achieve long-term energy goals, according to a senior European Commission official.
George Adamowitsch believes the European Union will not meet its target of delivering a fifth of all energy from renewable sources by 2020 without a major upgrade of the electricity grid.
Mr Adamowitsch – the EC co-ordinator preparing a blueprint for trans-European energy networks to help tackle climate change and deliver affordable and reliable energy supplies – will be laying out his case at a conference in Glasgow today.
He said: “Given the good offshore sites in Scotland, an integrated European solution requires adequate transmission capacity.
“We need to move from national to European thinking to incorporate the full potential of offshore wind generation in the North Sea.”
Mr Adamowitsch’s arguments will be well received by the renewables industry and the Scottish Government. They have been campaigning for cheaper transmission charges and for better grid connections to allow suppliers to export electricity to markets further south and abroad.
Energy Minister Jim Mather will tell the Scottish Renewables Grid Conference it is time for “radical and lasting change” to the use, development and charging structure of the electricity grid.
“Significant investment is needed in both research and development and key infrastructure projects, and we are particularly pleased that the EC has highlighted development of a blueprint for a North Sea grid as a strategic priority,” he said.
“A North Sea offshore grid is a significant opportunity for Scotland to develop and deliver its offshore renewable energy potential and will be a key building block to connect and export Scotland’s renewable energy to the UK and Europe.”
Scottish Renewables, the green energy trade body, has argued that the higher transmission charges for generators in the north and the lack of infrastructure are holding back the develop- ment of Scottish green energy projects.
SCOTLAND Grid
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Jason Ormiston, chief executive of the green energy trade body Scottish Renewables, said: “Scotland’s renewable ambitions must be matched by the infrastructure to deliver – the immediate step must be approval for the Beauly to Denny transmission upgrade, followed by the development of a North Sea supergrid enabling Scotland to fully meet its renewables and climate change obligations.
“The announcement today will hopefully embed Scotland’s renewables ambitions into a European plan for a grid that will build interdependence and electricity trading across the whole EU.”
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