A PUBLICLY owned Scottish energy company could “re-energise” the renewable energy sector and deliver electricity at competitive prices for the consumer, an expert has said.
David Toke, a senior lecturer in energy policy at Aberdeen University, said the company could also offer consumers cheaper electricity than its rivals by offering environmentally friendly generators long-term deals. Toke said such a move could give the Scottish Government’s planned utility provider a “distinctive appeal” that would rate higher than its rivals in terms of offering green energy.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged her government will set up a “publicly owned, not-for-profit energy company” by the end of the current Scottish Parliament term in 2021.
Toke said: “The Scottish Government has a great opportunity to become the UK leader in the supply of green energy. It can achieve this if its proposed energy company is able to offer long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for new onshore wind and solar projects.”
In a paper produced for the group Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA), Toke said offering long-term PPA deals could in itself be “instrumental in ensuring the establishment of renewable energy projects that would not otherwise exist”.
With renewable energy schemes often requiring the bulk of investment at the start of the project, long-term PPAs can help them get off the ground, he argued. “What renewable energy projects need are the offer of long-term power purchasing agreements lasting, say, 15 years,” he said.
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