That the Parliament believes that rising transmission charges are undermining the economics of Scottish offshore wind projects; believes that the charges, which are the fees energy generators pay to use the electricity network and penalise producers further away from London, are a key consideration when decisions are being made on whether to progress offshore wind projects, including whether they can compete in future Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds; understands that the next CfD rounds will happen in 2026, while reform of the transmission charges regime may not be implemented until as late as 2029; believes that this timing mismatch creates huge uncertainty for developers, putting Scotland’s entire ScotWind programme and the country's transition to net zero at risk; calls on the UK Government to urgently intervene to address this issue to ensure that viable projects are not delayed or even cancelled, thus ensuring that Scottish projects can compete in the next CfD process, and believes that, with the full powers of independence, this would not even be an issue, as no independent Scottish Government would levy transmission charges depending on their proximity to London.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Colin Beattie, Stephanie Callaghan, Bob Doris, Annabelle Ewing, Jamie Hepburn, Bill Kidd, Fulton MacGregor, John Mason, Paul McLennan, David Torrance, Evelyn Tweed, Elena Whitham