Oil giant BP has “no plans” to invest in renewables in Scotland, an energy chief said last night.
Nick Wayth, boss of BP’s alternative energy division, was answering the public’s questions on social media platform Linkedin.
When asked about the possibility of North Sea renewables investment he said “while BP is one of the largest investors” the company has no plans “for a major alternative energy investment in Scotland”.
However, Mr Wayth refused to rule out the possibility of future investment, saying the firm will “continue to look at investment opportunities around the world, including the UK”.
He said: “While BP is one of the largest investors in the North Sea, we currently do not have any plans for a major alternative energy investment in Scotland. But as you are probably aware, offshore wind is a significant renewable resource for both Scotland and the UK in general.
“Currently the UK’s 6GW forms around 30% of offshore wind capacity globally, and we will continue to look at investment opportunities around the world, including the UK.”
The BP boss was taking part in a live question and answer session about the global oil firm’s future plans for alternative energies in which Mr Wayth fielded questions by energy boffins, academics, scientists and members of the public.
Mr Wayth went on to say that BP was currently focussing its efforts on the US onshore wind market, where it operates 13 sites with a generating capacity of 1.4 gigawatts.
He said: “Offshore wind is one of the areas that we are evaluating, given the growth of the sector and its natural fit with BP capabilities.
“We are of course actively focused on our existing onshore wind business in the US where we have 14 sites – 13 that we operate, while we hold a stake in another in Hawaii. We are considering expanding this portfolio through repowering certain sites.”
With Equinor launching the Hywind floating wind project in 2017 and Shell claiming it is “looking to Scotland” for future wind opportunities, some were surprised to see no mention of Scotland within BP’s low carbon agenda in April.
BP did however outline its commitment to global renewable energy via the investment of just under £140 million over the next three years in solar firm BP Lightsource, which it calls “Europe’s largest”, while also pledging investment in Brazilian biofuel and biopower.
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