Swathes of windfarm applications will have to be forced through if the Scottish Government is to even come close to its “ludicrous” renewable energy targets, it has been warned.
The Scottish Conservatives have highlighted figures revealed in a report published tomorrow that show even if all 293 on and off-shore projects under construction or granted consent go ahead, scores more will have to be introduced before 2020.
Audit Scotland’s renewable energy review revealed there were another 369 proposed projects yet to be decided on, and that they would have to take much of the burden for the SNP’s goal of producing 30 per cent of Scotland’s total energy consumption by 2020.
The Scottish Government was also criticised in the report for not being able to verify the number of people currently employed in the sector, adding that even Scottish Renewables could not substantiate the estimate that 11,000 currently work in the industry.
The SNP claims the renewables sector will create 40,000 jobs and £30 billion worth of investment by 2020, but Audit Scotland has warned this may take longer than planned.
In addition, the report pointed out that while around £209 million of public money had been invested in renewables since 2002, over the next two years a further £264 million will have to be ploughed in.
This is despite private investment slowing down significantly, amid warnings that the public cannot sustain heavy subsidies in wind power.
And because off-shore wind projects are more complex and require billions of pounds of investment, it is feared more pressure will be placed on local authorities to give the go-ahead to more controversial on-shore developments.
MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife Murdo Fraser said:
“This shows that the Scottish Government renewables target is far too ambitious and the timescale is already slipping.
“There are hundreds of windfarm applications which have been handed approval but yet to be built, and hundreds more in the application stage.
“Huge swathes of these are going to have to be pushed through if this ludicrous goal is to be reached.
“That is a matter of huge concern, and shows that the recent drawing back from the turbine obsession by Alex Salmond is nothing but a temporary appeasement.
“And the report has even said his claim that renewables support 11,000 jobs in Scotland today has zero credibility.
“It’s an entirely spurious figure that neither he nor Scottish Renewables can verify.
“We believe there is a place for renewables in a mixed energy environment, and that is a far more sensible and sustainable approach than the SNP’s.
“This report reveals the hundreds of millions the Scottish Government will throw at this issue in the next couple of years, even though private firms are waking up to the fact that it is an incredibly unreliable and intermittent sector.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
The Audit Scotland ‘Renewable Energy’ report will be published tomorrow.
The report, on p26, states: “Most of this additional capacity will be delivered by wind turbines, both on land and at sea. The amount of installed capacity from onshore wind needed to meet the 2020 target will depend on how quickly the offshore wind sector develops … However, successfully developing, testing and building offshore wind projects to be operational by 2020 will be challenging. It is a new industry that requires billions of pounds of investment from the private sector.”