Scotland prepared for green electricity revolution ahead of new UK energy strategy

Energy security has become a focus across Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with swathes of the continent reliant on Vladimir Putin for imported fossil fuels.

Although the UK only imports a small proportion of Russian fuels, Conservative ministers at Westminster want to ramp up North Sea oil and gas production – but have placed a renewed focus onto renewable energy which is cheaper than other forms of energy.

The UK Government is also expected to pave the way for a new generation of nuclear power plants, despite the high costs and potential risks. The Scottish Government opposes the use of nuclear power and can block large power developments through planning rules – but Scotland feeds into the same energy grid as the rest of Britain.

Despite the pledge to support North Sea industries, a stark UN climate report published on Monday highlighted that there must be a rapid move away from oil and gas to renewables if efforts to tackle the climate crisis are to be salvaged – warning that global emissions must peak in just three years’ time before a rapid decline.

READ MORE: IPCC report: Rapid reductions needed in North Sea oil and gas use to avert climate crisis

Scotland already produces the majority of its electricity through renewable energy – but a huge strain is set to be placed on the grid in the coming years with heating systems and vehicles plugged in at a huge scale as a key part of a pledge to become net zero by 2045.

The Scottish Government is also ramping up its offshore wind capacity after the latest ScotWind contracts were announced that will generate 25GW of renewable energy -– while the UK Government is expected to boost offshore renewables in its new energy vision.

National Grid ESO, which operates Britain’s electricity system, has ambitions to run a zero carbon network by 2025.

It has today announced a long-term deal that will stabilise the electricity system in Scotland which will help manage growing wind farm capacity and help the shift to renewable energy.

The ESO has awarded 10 contracts to four companies worth a total of £323 million to provide net zero solutions to stabilising supply.

The National Grid has warned that the phasing out of nuclear power plants in Scotland and northern England and a ramping up of onshore and offshore wind farms poses a stability risk to the electricity supply.

READ MORE: Oil and gas workers 'given confidence for future' after £700m wind power contracts

The new contracts, due to start in 2024, will solve insufficient short circuit levels and provide a green form of inertia to help keep the electricity system stable.

Previously, inertia had been provided by gas or coal power plants but ESO has now procured it from carbon-free sources.

Julian Leslie, head of networks at National Grid ESO, said: “We believe this is the first time in the world where grid forming inverters have been used in multiple locations across a region to provide a system-wide solution to short circuit levels and inertia.

“This technology will help to future-proof Scotland’s wind generation success story, help us continue to operate the fastest decarbonising electricity network in the world and achieve our plans to be able to operate a zero-carbon grid by 2025.”

Scotland’s Net Zero and Energy Secretary, Michael Matheson, said: “Accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources is a fundamental part of Scotland’s journey to net zero.

“This ambitious growth will require innovative, parallel work and investment in how we harness, store and manage electricity generated by renewable sources, and I welcome this investment from National Grid ESO, which demonstrates that renewables and other zero-carbon technologies are capable of providing the services needed for a secure electricity system.”

The SNP has long-criticised transmission charges levelled at consumers in northern Scotland compared to the rest of Britain.

Last year, energy giant SSE told MSPs that charging rates by Ofgem add £3 per MWh as a Scottish “premium” as the power has to travel further to other parts of the UK meaning developers may think twice before agreeing to invest in Scottish projects.

READ MORE: SNP's energy targets at risk by Scottish grid 'premium' charges

But Ofgem has stressed that “homes and businesses in Scotland have benefited from lower transmission charges as the power is generated closer to where it is delivered”.

But one of the SNP’s MPs, Angus MacNeil, has claimed that the UK Government has now admitted “the dilly-dallying has been going on for far too long and that things will change”.

He added: “Renewable projects have been hampered or stopped because of the need to pay excessive transmission charges which has stopped clean green electricity being generated.

“The UK Government says that it has to finance the transmission network in some way, but in some places they are giving subsidies, actually giving money away from the transmission network, to generate.

"Whilst in the north and west of Scotland, where the energy wind resource is best, it is prohibitively expensive to produce energy."

Speaking ahead of the UK’s new energy strategy, Mr Kwarteng insisted that “offshore wind is a major British success story”, stressing that it is cheaper than gas, with wholesale prices soaring.

He added: “Our new energy security strategy will boost cheap renewables, new nuclear and North Sea oil and gas for security of supply.”

A spokesperson for Ofgem said: “Ofgem has been looking into reforming TNUoS (Transmission Network Use of System) charges since we issued our ‘call for evidence’ in October 2021.

"In February 2022 we announced a programme to consider the root causes of unpredictability in TNUoS charges and how they might be addressed, and to ensure that the charges users pay accurately reflect the cost of them using the system.

"In the longer term we will continue to work with industry and stakeholders to consider broader reform of the market to foster a flexible, net zero energy system.”