Renewables projects win £100m Euro-cash

Published Date: 06 October 2009
By Jenny Fyall
TWO major green energy projects in Scotland, including the east coast's first offshore wind farm, are to be given more than £100 million of European funding.
In a show of support for Scotland's renewables industry, the European Commission will grant 40m (£37m) to a planned wind farm off the Aberdeen coast.A further 75m (£67m) will go towards a transmission hub off the north coast of Scotland, which would pave the way for the mass development of renewables in the Pentland Firth and on Shetland.The funding, to be officially announced later this month, will go some way to lift Scotland's disappointment that the European Commission has decided not to provide funding towards ScottishPower's carbon capture and storage system at Longannet Power Station in Fife, as reported in The Scotsman yesterday. Swedish utility firm Vattenfall and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group are behind the plans for the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm.They originally hoped to install 23 giant turbines up to three miles out to sea, but announced earlier this year that the scheme would be scaled down because of concerns about helicopter safety and the impact on the marine environment. Scottish & Southern Energy is also due to benefit from the European Economic Recovery Plan funding. The company hopes to build a transmission hub attached to a cable linking Shetland and mainland Scotland. This would pave the way for a mass expansion in marine renewables – wave, tidal and offshore wind generation – in and around the Pentland Firth.Neither of the projects to share in the EU funding yet has planning permission.Dr Richard Dixon, director of the environmentalist group WWF Scotland, said both projects were "very important"."This is a vote of confidence from Europe in Scotland's huge renewable potential so that's a very positive sign," he said.The funding recommendations will be considered by member states before being formally announced, but The Scotsman understands they are very unlikely to change. A spokeswoman for Scottish & Southern Energy said: "If it's the case that we are getting the funding then it's very welcome because it's a good news story for renewable energy being connected off the north-east coast, including the Pentland Firth." A spokeswoman for the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm added that she was "optimistic". A Scottish Government spokesman said he hoped it would be possible to "bring in £100m of investment in Scotland".He added: "Nonetheless we are disappointed in the possible decision on Longannet but it remains a strong contender in the UK CCS competition, and we hope that this will be recognised."Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland George Lyon said: "This is good news. Scotland has the potential to be Europe's renewables powerhouse, and this money will help unlock that potential."