As the windiest country in Europe, Scotland is the UK’s onshore wind powerhouse.
The renewable energy sector presents a huge economic opportunity and supports an estimated 5,800 Scottish jobs, and generated more than £2.8 billion for the Scottish economy in 2017. adds £133 million of goods and services to our economy.
Research has demonstrated that for every Gigawatt (GW) of renewable power installed in Scotland, 1,500 jobs are created, and adds £133 million of goods and services to our economy.
This presents an unmissable opportunity for renewable energy to be at the centre of Scotland’s ‘Green Economic Recovery’. Delivering new onshore wind energy projects is a cornerstone of this ambition.
Climate Emergency and Net Zero
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Addressing the Climate Emergency is Scotland’s overarching planning priority
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Achieving the binding Net Zero commitment by 2045 requires an urgent and radical shift
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The UK will need to quadruple the amount of renewable electricity it installs in order to meet the targets to become carbon neutral
Technology and Viability
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Electricity from modern wind turbine technology is the cheapest form of new power generation available.
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Due to it’s windy climate, Scotland is expertly placed to build subsidy free onshore wind projects.
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Onshore wind development in the UK is also now eligible to bid by competitive auction, for a Contract for Difference (CfD) – the UK Government’s main mechanism for supporting the deployment of local carbon electricity generation.
The CfD system has been designed to minimise costs to consumers, as generators pay back the difference when the exported electricity price exceeds set levels.
It also provides certainty and stability to new electricity generators, by reducing the exposure to volatile wholesale prices; and therefore allow projects to get financed and built.