Restrictions in finance and delays to both planning and grid connections are preventing Scotland’s rural communities from achieving the full benefits of renewable energy, claims rural energy specialist Nick Green.
Speaking at the All-Energy Conference in Aberdeen this week, Mr Green, who is head of energy for Savills in Scotland, said that while the recently-released Agri-renewables Strategy for Scotland provided a positive roadmap for the industry, there were still key barriers to entry in the form of finance, planning and grid capacity.
“Land has been used to power industry for thousands of years and renewable energy has the potential to fundamentally transform the profitability of business in the rural sector,” he said.
“Until recently, however, it has been seen by some as difficult, risky and expensive to get community, farm-scale and rural renewable projects off the ground.
“Farm and community-scale renewable energy generation offers significant opportunities for Scotland’s landowners and managers to diversify their risk, deliver additional revenue streams and hedge against future energy price rises.
“Indeed, land is the key asset in order to produce energy. But the conditions for investment need to be spot-on.”
Mr Green added: “Scotland can and must continue to be a pioneer of renewable energy technologies, but this needs to happen in a context of global energy demand and technology development. As an industry, we need to stand above the rhetoric and focus on the future of rural and community energy generation.”