Further delay for subsea cable report 8/5/13
A study which could make-
The long-
The study is a collaboration between the UK and Scottish governments which examined the transmission system which charges about 50 or 60 times more to export renewable electricity from the islands compare to a generator in the south of England.
The multi-
Its remit was to assess the commercial viability of renewable projects on the Scottish islands and the overall value for money these projects provide for the UK.
The islands’ vision of a booming economy and jobs created from the energy sector will crash unless the contract for the underwater interconnector is approved virtually immediately.
Major Western Isles renewable energy schemes are delayed as Scottish and Southern
Energy (SSE) -
The final report highlights that the islands have a massive energy potential and are ideally situated to generate vast amounts of electricity.
It points out that the high charges of exporting the output from proposed windfarms is major challenge.
So is getting grid connections and securing a subsea cable off Lewis.
Transmission charges increase the further distant the generator is from user so it effectively penalises energy developments in the Hebrides.
The report comes towards a crucial stop-
It is likely to spearhead the possibility of increasing the level of Renewables Obligations
Certificates (ROCS) subsidy for island-
SSE said it was waiting for the study, which would outline the government’s proposals to tackle the export charges, before proceeding with the end process to secure the cable.
A SSE spokesperson said that since “we had not received a clear policy statement from Ministers by the end of April, it was unlikely that we would be in a position to place the cable contract on 1 July.”
The July date is important as it is the last opportunity of a confident timescale to manufacture and install the submarine cable. Each passing day risks a further three year wait.