Scottish Renewables urges govt to create support mechanism for wave and tidal energy

Industry body Scottish Renewables has issued a publication outlining steps that the Scottish Government should take to reach the energy transition.

The paper, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution, was launched on Energy Day at the ongoing 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

It sets out five key recommendations and urges the Scottish Government to accelerate the pace of the country’s transition to a net-zero society.

Among others, the publication recommends that the government continues to develop the country’s wave and tidal energy industries by creating a support mechanism to work alongside the UK Government’s revenue stabilisation mechanism.

“Our world-leading wave and tidal energy industries can provide a predictable, low-carbon, local energy source too. Continuing the development of marine energy projects will play a key role in achieving net-zero islands and coastal communities which are generally using high carbon fuel sources for heat and transport and are impacted by limited grid capacity”, said Claire Mack, CEO of Scottish Renewables.

Other four recommendations include reforms in Scotland’s planning process regarding offshore and onshore wind energy, accelerating decarbonisation through heating from renewable sources, installing 1GW of solar PV capacity by 2030, and establishing an energy skills and services export target to support the just transition of workers.

“Scotland’s renewable energy sector is a vital part of the country’s economy, bringing billions of pounds of investment and supporting thousands of jobs in some of our most remote regions, as well as offsetting billions of tonnes of carbon every year and it’s vital that Scotland’s politicians continue to support it”, Mack added.