May 15 2013

Renewable energy projects could create more than 10,000 jobs on the Scottish islands by 2030, according to a Government-commissioned report.

An independent study found investment in wind, wave and tidal energy would bring significant socio-economic benefits to the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney and could establish Scotland as a world leader in marine technologies.

But the expense and difficulty of accessing the National Grid means the Government needs to weigh up the cost and benefits of developing renewable energy on the islands against other sources of electricity , the report said.

The Government has agreed a target of meeting 15% of the UK's energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, which requires about 30% of UK electricity to come from renewables by this date.

The Scottish Government aims to generate the equivalent of 100% of Scotland's gross annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change and Scottish ministers appointed energy consultants Baringa Partners and TNEI to assess whether Scottish Islands renewables could help meet the targets and what was needed to bring the projects forward.

If renewable projects in the region are to be a key contributor to the targets then a co-ordinated policy is "urgently" needed, the consultants advised.

The report said: "We have concluded in our study that further renewable generation on the Scottish Islands will not be developed on any scale in the near term under current policy.

"The costs of connecting to the transmission system are too high, making it difficult for developers and the regulator acting on behalf of customers to commit to costly new transmission infrastructure."

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Scottish News: '10,000 jobs' in islands renewables