Renew On Line (UK) 34

Extracts from the November-December 2001 edition of Renew
These extracts only represent about 25% of it

5. Renewables Obligation

Although the idea of having ‘technology bands’ for providing extra support specific options like energy crops or wavepower was once again turned down, the new proposals for the Renewables Obligation for England and Wales (see Renew 133) were generally welcomed, even if they did seem to involve a reduced interim target- 3% by 2003 instead of 5%. Presumably that was in recognition of the problems with obtaining planning permission for wind farms, and maybe, tragically, also reflects the impact of NETA. The decision to exclude waste combustion from the RO, although welcome by most environmental groups, will also possibly reduce the growth of this source. The retention of the 3p/kWh buy out price was also mostly welcomed, as was the plan to adjust it if necessary each year to reflect changing market conditions. But what was really welcome was the ambitious targets adopted for Scotland for the parallel Scottish Obligation.

Scotland - 18% by 2010

Scotlands Deputy Environment Minister Rhona Brankin has set out her blueprint for a massive expansion of renewable energy in Scotland, in a final statutory consultation on the Renewables Obligation

(Scotland), which is designed to deliver on the Scottish Executive's commitment that, by 2010, 18% of Scotland’s electricity will be accounted for by renewable sources - the RO target for England and Wales is only 10.4% by 2010.

Rhona Brankin said: ‘Scotland has tremendous potential for generating more energy from wind, water and waves, and other sources too such as biomass. Our existing hydro schemes and wind farms account for around 12 per cent of Scotland's electricity already. Our objective is to get that proportion up to around 18% by 2010’.

She went on ‘Our initial consultation on the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) or ROS, provoked a very healthy response. We have since considered the many points raised, and are now seeking views on our final proposals before putting them to the Scottish Parliament later in the year. We believe that our proposals will not only benefit the environment, but will bring about real future benefit for Scotland in terms of technology development, new jobs and inward investment to some of the key industries of ‘the future’.

She added “The recent decision by the leading Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to build a factory in Kintyre brings 150 much needed jobs to that area (see our report later), and further emphasises the gains that are beginning to flow from our policy of strongly encouraging the development of renewable energy. We are already supporting the refurbishment of a number of existing hydro schemes and will assist with the development of new ones. In both cases we will secure engineering jobs for Scotland. We have also agreed to fund a survey aimed at quickly establishing a marine energy test centre in Orkney as we are determined that Scotland will be at the forefront of global developments in getting power from the oceans.” (seebelow)

Paralleling the decision made by the DTI, she added that “although we have decided that energy from municipal waste incineration will not be supported under the ROS, we will support cleaner technologies that use biodegradable wastes to generate electricity.”

Counting the output from existing hydro schemes, and renewable projects in the pipeline under the previous Scottish Renewables Obligation (SRO), it is expected that around 13% of Scottish electricity demand will be met from renewables by 2003. The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) or ROS, will be used to increase this figure to around 18% by 2010. Like the RO, the ROS is planned to remain in place until 2027. Following this final consultation, the Order should go to the Scottish Parliament later in the year.