The Chancellor’s new approach to renewable energy risks putting billions of pounds of offshore wind investment and thousands of Scottish jobs in jeopardy, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) has warned.
In last week’s Budget, John Healey announced that Labour would only procure new clean power projects where they lower electricity bills overall and can connect to the grid.
However, industry leaders say the move threatens Scotland’s emerging floating offshore wind sector.
Now, the AGCC is calling on the government to ensure the upcoming Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 8 (AR8) and subsequent auctions have sufficient budgets to support floating offshore wind at scale.
Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive of AGCC, said: “The UK Government cannot expect the north-east of Scotland to deliver an energy transition while making it increasingly difficult to invest in the industries that will make it possible.
“We have the people, the expertise and the industrial infrastructure. But where exactly does the government expect our world-class supply chain and skilled workforce to go if these opportunities disappear?”
The Chamber is also asking that the forthcoming Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) fully accounts for Scotland’s offshore wind pipeline, including more than 23GW of floating wind projects, rather than allowing short-term cost considerations to put that investment at risk.
The Chamber estimates that Scottish businesses could secure between £28.6 billion and £34.8 billion in contracts from the projects.
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