The planned closure of the onshore wind farm subsidy scheme threatens more than 100 future jobs at a development in rural Perthshire, as well as £10 million of investment at the site, according to industry figures.
Binn Eco Park, a former landfill site, is now home to waste recovery, recycling facilities and an anaerobic digestion plant.
Industry body Scottish Renewables says “ambitious” plans to develop a business park, food production facilities and a training centre at the site – with the hope of creating jobs and driving investment – are being hindered because the business cannot import the electricity it needs from the national grid.
Binn must instead use expensive diesel generators to produce power.
Site bosses hope a proposal for four wind turbines next to the current site will be determined by planners in July.
But without the “renewables obligation” scheme, the turbines will not proceed, and without the low-cost, clean energy they will provide, plans for the site will not go ahead as expected, they argue.
Binn plans to develop the site, two miles south of Abernethy, with renewable energy developer Element Power, which has already committed more than £10 million to the scheme.
John Ferguson, head of strategy at Binn Eco Park, has previously written to the UK Government over plans to close the renewables obligation scheme early.
He said: “If we cannot solve the problem of our high energy costs, our business cannot grow.
“The future of Binn Eco Park relies upon renewable energy and we have written to the UK Government twice setting out our case.
“This isn’t just about construction jobs, it’s about long-term sustainable employment in a rural area and it’s about cleaning up the carbon emissions from our business.”
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