The UK Government’s Head of Mission Control Chris Stark has ruled out any changes to grid charging for offshore wind farms in Scottish waters being made before this year’s Allocation Round 8.
London has faced repeated calls from developers and trade associations to address the TNUoS system that was described by Scottish Renewables in the wake of this month’s AR7 results as “unfair and disproportionate” for projects north of the border.
Stark said the government recognised the need to act after regulator Ofgem rejected proposals last year to introduce a temporary ‘cap and floor’ system of fees while longer term reforms due to be implemented by 2029 are mulled by London.
However, he told delegates at Scottish Renewables Offshore Wind Conference in Glasgow today (29 January) that “interim fixes” were unlikely to be made available this year to bidders in AR8.
“You could think of some interim fixes and perhaps there is something to be done, but I want to temper enthusiasm for that – they are all messy as hell,” he said.
“That means AR8 will be in the midst of some uncertainty, but for AR9 and AR10 we want to lay out some longer-term certainty.”
Stark said next steps on the future of TNUoS would be outlined “next month”.
He stressed that final outcomes would be interlinked with other ongoing workstreams including publication of a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and wider reforms to the electricity market and national pricing.