Building an extra five gigawatts of onshore windfarms over the next five years – mostly in Scotland – would save UK consumers £1.6 billion over 15 years.
And the wind-ustry report commissioned by Scottish Power, among others, also forecasts that by far the major of new wind-power energy projects (86%) will be built in Scotland – thereby creating some 10,800 new jobs in Scottish energy
The new report from renewable energy consultants BVG Associates demonstrated that awarding contracts for 5 gigawatts (GW) of new onshore wind power between 2019 and 2025 could deliver a net payback to UK consumers of £1.6 billion.
Their analysis considers five new Contract for Difference (CfD) auctions held from 2019 and at 18 month intervals thereafter. Each has a maximum capacity of 1GW.
Forecasts show that the costs of new onshore wind projects will drop beneath the Government’s forecast wholesale electricity price from 2023, delivering a net benefit for UK electricity consumers.
Over the five auctions it is expected that 86% of the projects by capacity will be built in Scotland and 12% in Wales. Less than 2% will be built in England made up of small scale projects (sub 50MW) of a type typically developed by communities.
Around 18,000 skilled jobs will be supported during the peak years of construction, with 8,500 people employed in long-term skilled jobs when all the wind farms are operating.
A clear commitment to five auctions would stimulate supply chain investment, increasing the already high proportion of UK content in projects to almost 70%. The biggest opportunities are in fabricating towers and blades, part refurbishment and the development of UK installation teams.
It is anticipated that 60% of the jobs will be created in Scotland, 17% in Wales and 23% in England (where most UK corporate head offices are located).
A Scottish Power spokesman commented: “Onshore wind is the cheapest form of new build electricity generation available in the UK today, and statistics show that it is supported by over three-quarters of the British public.
“The Government can benefit from cheap, green and clean energy to deliver the Industrial Strategy and Clean Growth Plan by supporting onshore wind as well.”
A number of major Scandinavian wind power developers also contributed to commissioning the expert report.
12 Jun 2018
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