SP Paper 822 (Web)
Contents
Report
Introduction
The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 [draft]
Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee consideration
Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee consideration
Recommendation
Remit and membership
Remit:
The remit of the Committee is to consider and report on the Scottish economy, enterprise, energy, tourism, renewables and other matters falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (apart from those covered by the remit of the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee), and matters relating to cities.
Membership:
Murdo Fraser (Convener)
Dennis Robertson (Deputy Convener)
Chic Brodie
Patrick Harvie
Johann Lamont
Richard Lyle
Gordon MacDonald
Lewis Macdonald
Joan McAlpine
The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 [draft]
Introduction
1. At its meeting on 28 October 2015, the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee considered the following affirmative instrument The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 [draft] (“the amending Order”). The Committee took evidence from the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism and officials. The official report of the meeting will be available on Monday 2 November 2015.
The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 [draft]
2. The amending Order was laid on 17 September 2015.
3. This amending Order implements policy decisions in relation to the reporting requirements and sustainability criteria for stations using solid biomass and biogas feedstocks to generate electricity. These amendments include the following:
(1) Making compliance with the sustainability criteria mandatory for generating stations of 1MW or above which use solid biomass and biogas, as set out in the November 2013 Scottish Government response to consultation on biomass sustainability criteria (article 6 inserts new article 22ZA into the ROS).
(2) Tightening the greenhouse gas emissions targets for 2020 and 2025 and averaging greenhouse gas emissions across the year, as set out in the November 2013 Scottish Government response to consultation on biomass sustainability criteria and the February 2015 Scottish Government response to technical adjustments to sustainability provisions for solid and gaseous biomass (article 8 amends article 24 of the ROS, article 13 inserts new Schedule A1A and article 14 substitutes Schedule A2)
(3) Technical adjustments to the reporting requirements and sustainability criteria for solid biomass and biogas as set out in the February 2015 Scottish Government response to technical adjustments to sustainability provisions for solid and gaseous biomass (article 3(1) amends article 2(1) of the ROS, article 11 substitutes article 54 and article 14 substitutes Schedule A2). These include:
- Replacing the definition of “sawlog” in the ROS with a requirement to use a definition for saw logs which matches the local specification for saw logs in place where the sawmill operates and to reference details of the local specification used.
- Replacing the current requirement to report on tree species with a requirement for generators to report on the proportion of wood used which is hardwood and the proportion which is softwood.
- Requiring a report on whether any wood used was likely to have come from protected or threatened species.
- Providing exemptions from the timber standard for:
- arboricultural residues (urban areas)
- material removed from non-forest land for ecological reasons
- Adding ‘highly biodiverse grasslands’ to the list of protected land types in the land criteria.
4. The amending Order also:
- Corrects a defect in article 21B by amending the date by which a CfD transfer notice cannot be changed from “21st March 2027” to “31st March 2027”.
- Amends article 30D to include – as part of the current requirement for the operator to make a declaration to Ofgem – a requirement for the developer to confirm that it has an appropriate demonstration lease from The Crown Estate. This has been amended to facilitate Ofgem’s administration of the RO scheme.
Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee consideration
5. The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the amending Order on 6 October 2015 and published its report the following day. In its report, the DPLR Committee noted some drafting concerns and drew the instrument to the Parliament’s attention on that basis.
Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee consideration
6. The Committee noted the DPLR Committee’s concerns regarding the amending Order outlined in its report but did not raise them as the report noted that the Scottish Government had undertaken to correct these errors at the next available opportunity.
7. The Committee considered the Order and did not raise any points with the Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism.
The Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism moved motion S4M-14576—
That the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee recommends that the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 [draft] be approved.
The motion was agreed to.
Recommendation
8. The Committee recommends that the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 [draft] be approved.
Any links to external websites in this report were working correctly at the time of publication. However, the Scottish Parliament cannot accept responsibility for content on external websites.
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