Fergus Ewing, Scottish Energy Minister, is schedule to provide an update on progress of the national grid connections to the Scottish Islands next month.
In a written reply to in Holyrood to a question from Liam McArthur, MSP, Ewing said:
“The key financial mechanism that will unlock island grid upgrades is the extension of the Scottish island strike price beyond the first Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan period, which ends in 2018-19.
“The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change have the power to make that happen now.
“Working together with the island councils, the Scottish Government has argued strongly for the UK Government to recognise the additional support needed to enable the delivery of island renewables projects, given the higher costs they face. As a result of our representations to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, a delivery forum to facilitate connections between the Scottish islands and the Great Britain transmission grid has been established.
“At a meeting of the delivery forum on 26 June 2014, the UK Secretary of State agreed to consider what reassurances could be given regarding the longer term future Scottish island strike price.
“Progress on the actions agreed will be reported at the next meeting of the delivery forum which is due in September 2014.”
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy