Scotland hosts 85% of UK renewables deployed last year
● Five major new wind farms help boost capacity from independent green energy
Scotland is dominating growth in the independent renewables sector as investment last year topped £116 million, new research indicates.
Green energy supplier Smartestenergy, which has a base in Glasgow, found that Scotland accounted for almost 85 per cent of new capacity generated from independent, commercial-s ca le renew ab les, adding 276 megawatts of the UK’S overall 329MW additional capacity during 2018.
Five major on shore wind farms were connected to the grid in Scotland last year, helping the nation to eclipse the performance of 49MW fresh capacity in England and a further 4MW in Wales.
The Energy Ent re preneurs Report showed a total of £158m was invested in the sector last year by develop - ers, farmers, landowners and communities across the UK, with £116m of this taking place in Scotland.
This represents a 5.3 per cent year-on-year growth in investment – the slowest rate since the inception of the annual report in 2012 – as the impact of cuts to subsidies continued to be felt. Recent changes have included the removal of subsidies from the Renewables Obligation scheme and cuts to feed-in tariffs.
For the purposes of the report, commercial-scale schemes are classed as those with a capacity of 50 kilowatts or more, while independent projects are defined as those not owned by an electricity supply company.
The study suggested that developers north of the Border are seeking to maximise revenues by actively exploring the energy storage market, accounting for more than a third of the UK projects in the pipeline.
It also revealed par ti cular growth in gas-peaking plants, flexible generation assets which can be quickly switched on and off according to demand, with more than £36m invested across the UK.
The volume of power genera ted from independent renewable projects in the UK has increased by 199 per cent since 2012.
Capacity currently stands at 14.1 gigawatts and can power 8.3 million households.
Solar power continues to be the dominant UK technology by capacity, accounting for 6GW of the national total, followed by onshore wind, anaerobic digestion and hydro power.
Dave Cockshott, chief commercial officer for SmartestEnergy, said the report highlight show independent energy investors are now adjusting to changes in the funding landscape.
He said: “The latest figures underline the huge contribution the independent generation sector is making to help meet the UK’S ambitions to reduce emissions and ensure security of supply.
“The end of subsidies has inevitably seen investment in new generation projects plateau, but the focus is now shifting to new ways for energy entrepreneurs to profit from taking part in the transition to a smarter, lower carbon energy system.”