ENERGY generators in Scotland will be forced to pay £465 million in transmission charges by 2026 while those in England and Wales will get a £30m subsidy, new figures reveal.
The SNP have slammed the Tory government in Westminster for conducting a "Great Scottish Renewables Robbery" as renewable energy firms will be forced to pay massive fees to connect to the National Grid.
Scottish generators pay the highest rates to connect to the grid in Europe as new figures from the National Grid show how reliant the UK Government is on Scottish fees.
Figures provided from the House of Commons library last year showed that the electricity network in Scotland accounts for almost 52% of the total network in Great Britain with 9300 kilometres in Scotland and 8700km in England and Wales.
However, for an energy company to connect to the grid, it will cost £7.36 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in the north of Scotland and £4.70 per MWh in the south of Scotland transmission area.
The same action in England and Wales costs £0.49, and in southern England generators are paid to connect to the grid.
READ MORE: Scots 'unfairly penalised' by Westminster's transmission charges
The methodology for these charges was devised for England and Wales in 1992 following the privatisation of the National Grid and extended to Scotland in 2005.
The charges were designed to encourage generators to build close to consumers as the fee rises when less energy is consumed close to generation, meaning that renewable energy projects like onshore and offshore windfarms in Scotland built miles from any residents will have to pay more to connect their energy to the grid.
A new report from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) on transmission charges details that this method "discourages" new generations in remote locations at the same time as governments are encouraging the creation of renewable energy projects.
READ MORE: Scotland's green energy sector 'held back' by UK grid charges, MPs conclude
The report states: "There is an intrinsic tension between Government policy to transform the energy system and a TNUoS [Transmission Network Use of System] methodology that discourages new generation in locations that require network investment: the Government says build renewables; TNUoS says don’t."
The report adds that the current system "penalises" the generators currently connected in the north of Scotland and is "contrary" to government policy encouraging and supporting renewable energy growth.
It recommends that there is a "strong case to urgently review the transmission charging regime".
Scottish Power Energy Networks handles the grid in southern Scotland while SSEN Transmissions deals with it in the north. The split occurs just north of the Central Belt region.
In England and Wales, the grid is handled by National Grid Electricity Transmission.
READ MORE: SNP MP launches bill challenging UK's 'mismanagement' of Scottish energy grid
Energy is a reserved matter, meaning that the Scottish Government has no power to make any changes and must rely on decisions made by the UK Government.
The antiquated methodology indicates that by 2026/27, annual charges on the two Scottish networks will amount to more than £465m while those on the National Grid in England and Wales will receive a subsidy of more than £30m.
In the House of Commons Chamber on Tuesday, the SNP shadow business, energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) spokesperson Stephen Flynn (below) said Tory Minister Greg Hands was refusing to take action to deliver fairness in the system because revenues from Scottish generators are too valuable to Westminster as they subsidise England and the entire National Grid.
Commenting after the debate, Flynn said: “These damning figures from the National Grid prove that Scotland is being unfairly penalised by the Westminster government. It's clear the Tories have absolutely no interest in making the system fair for Scotland, because they want to continue forcing Scottish generators to subsidise the rest of the UK – plain and simple.
“The Tories are guilty of the Great Scottish Renewables Robbery. We know Scotland pays the highest transmission charges in Europe and these grossly unfair rates are holding back Scotland's renewable energy potential by acting as a huge barrier to expansion.
“Scotland has the potential to lead Europe in renewable energies, but we are being hampered by a Tory government with no interest in our net-zero future – and who seem happy for Scotland to be at a competitive disadvantage not just with the rest of Europe but within the UK too. It makes a mockery of Tory claims that this is a union of equals.
"We already know that Scotland has huge potential to lead Europe on renewable energy, now we just need the full powers of independence to ensure that potential isn't squandered by Westminster."
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