The hydro sector has accused the Department of Energy and Climate Change of failing to take account of key evidence in its review of feed-in-tariffs.
Green Highland Renewables chief executive Mark Mathieson said the government’s review ‘missed the point’ and did not take into account the broader benefits of hydro, warning Scotland’s hydro industry will “all but disappear” by the end of the decade after the tariff cuts.
Mathieson estimates that 80% of the 1700 jobs in the Scottish hydro industry will disappear by 2020 following the severe cuts announced by the government just before Christmas when tariffs were cut by up to 37%.
In a blog post Mathieson said: “The review of feed in tariffs has been a bitter disappointment to the hydro energy industry. We provided very strong, independent data to DECC on the costs and benefits of small-scale hydro much of which was disregarded in the final analysis.”
The British Hydro Association has written to energy minister Amber Rudd detailing their concerns.
Mathieson went on to warn “the review betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of the role hydro plays in the UK energy system – producing rapid, on-demand energy when it is needed most: in the evening, in winter when capacity margins are low.”
He warned that the government has focused on the headline tariff rates for green energy and that solar did relatively well in the review because it appears to be cheap but it does not make any contribution to the winter peak when margins are tight and the National Grid has to buy in short-term power.
“We have asked DECC to think again and have requested, via Amber Rudd, a further meeting to explore options,” Mathieson concluded.
Image: Hydro project (Green Highland Renewables)
