This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Fees cut for renewable energy developments
15/12/2005
Small hydro-electric and marine developments will have their fees cut next year.
New developments which do not exceed 10 MW will have their consent fees reduced from £15,000 to £5,000 under new legislation to be introduced by spring 2006.
Deputy Minister for Enterprise Allan Wilson said:
"This is excellent news for small-scale hydro-electric and marine developers and underlines our commitment to assisting these small scale projects.
"We have listened to the views of industry and will take the necessary legislative actions to ensure that the fees are reduced to alleviate any increased financial burden.
"Hydro-electricity accounts for almost 10 per cent of electricity generation in Scotland and plays an important role in the Executive achieving its renewable energy targets.
"We are committed to having 18 per cent of energy produced in Scotland to come from renewable sources by 2010, and 40 per cent by 2020.
"Today's announcement is yet another step towards meeting these targets."
Developments with an installed capacity between 10 MW and 100 MW will continue to attract a fee of £15,000 for consent from the Scottish Executive.
The legislative basis for charging fees for electricity consent applications is in paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 8 to the Electricity Act 1989. The fees were set in The Electricity (Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990 and the revised fees introduced on July 1, 2005 are set out in The Electricity (Applications for Consent) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2005.
Following the introduction of the current fee structure in July this year, the Executive was asked by the Enterprise and Culture Committee to re-examine the level of fees for small scale hydro developments in particular. The Committee was concerned that the increase in fees would act as a deterrent to these smaller projects by virtue of the increased financial burden placed on them.