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Media Releases
2005

24 May
2005

North Sea network can show the way for renewables future

With Europe's foremost renewable energy experts gathering in Aberdeen this week for the 2005 All Energy Conference, Lynne Mendelsohn, a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn specialising in the commercial and management aspects of renewable energy projects, outlined the challenges facing the industry in Scotland:

"We are only 5 years away from the government's 2010 target for increased renewables use and the issues are still the same – an increasing backlog of projects in planning, uncertainty over grid reinforcement, a funding shortfall for the Round 2 large scale offshore projects, and increasing commodity prices – particularly steel. So has the industry made any progress in the last couple of years?

"The volume of paper produced by articles, studies, consultations, reports and views on wind farms would be sufficient to fuel a small biomass station yet the issues haven't changed and the need to resolve them has only increased with time. To a large extent, the industry's future is out of the industry's hands – the political will to see renewable energy projects succeed, particularly large scale wind farms, must start to manifest itself in a co-ordinated and coherent approach to the policy and infrastructure issues.

"Grid connections pose the most intractable of all the issues. Given the current problems with the grid connections to the strategic environmental areas for the proposed large wind farms off the English Coast, it is difficult to envisage how large scale offshore projects can be viable in Scotland without some innovative thinking and co-ordinated action between the appropriate government agencies and private developers.

"Aberdeen may be able to offer its own particular experience to this issue. The oil and gas offshore industry, heavily based in the city, set up its own network of offshore infrastructure to connect fields to each other and to onshore networks. Wind farm developers and, hopefully wave and tidal developers in future, could emulate this approach.

"An offshore grid network could result in savings in capital cost of projects for developers given reduced requirements for cabling and economies of scale, and enable localised grid reinforcement costs to be distributed equitably. If socialisation of grid reinforcement costs is a realistic option then this approach could well have advantages.

"Without the potential for wind farms off the Scottish coast, the pressure will remain on onshore developments in Scotland, with all of the planning problems that entails, to say nothing of the onshore grid issues. The industry is hoping for renewed commitment from both Westminster and Holyrood now that the election is out of the way and we hope that Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister for Energy, and Ross Finnie MSP Minister for Environment and Rural Development can reassure the Aberdeen visitors that solutions will be found."

Note to Editors:

The firm's Renewable Energy Group offers a comprehensive service, supported by significant experience, providing a coordinated and integrated resource that encompasses the legal, commercial and management aspects of renewable energy projects.


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