Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Scottish independence threatens to
raise the nation’s power bills as billions of pounds needed to
switch to green energy are borne by its people instead of being
spread across Britain, U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Davey said.
“Scottish independence would raise fundamental questions
about energy policy and I believe some of the best features of
our system would inevitably be under threat,” he said. “In the
absence of a united single energy market or agreed socialization
of costs under our renewables schemes, the costs of renewables
deployment and transmission infrastructure upgrades would, I
believe, be too great a burden for Scottish consumers alone.”
A debate over independence sought by the Scottish National
Party is intensifying before a referendum in 2014. The British
government said the union with Scotland, which produced about 40
percent of U.K. renewable energy last year, provides certainty
for investors it wants to attract to replace aging power plants.
Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA, Samsung Heavy Industries Co.
and Areva SA are among companies that announced offshore wind
projects in Scotland attracted by U.K.-wide incentives, Davey
said, adding that support also spurs oil and gas investment.
In reaction, the Scottish government said it is the U.K.
that needs access to Scotland’s “vast” renewable resources.
The rest of the U.K. needs Scotland’s electricity to meet
its own renewables targets and help keep the lights on south of
the border, a spokeswoman from the Scottish government said
today in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg.
Power Markets
In a conference speech today released on the Department of
Energy and Climate Change’s website, Davey cited U.K. plans to
triple renewable energy subsidies to 7.6 billion pounds ($12
billion) by 2020 as part of changes to power markets. “Most
countries would prefer the benefit of such investment to be felt
within its own borders and Scotland would become just one of a
number of countries that the U.K. could deal with,” he said.
Scotland should consider whether independence would mean
setting up its own program or sharing those costs, Davey said.
The Scottish government said the nation’s green resources
mean it would be in the interests of the rest of the U.K. to
ensure support is available to secure Scotland’s renewables.
Questions remain on whether a single energy market across
Scotland, England and Wales would continue, Davey said. Under
the 1998 accord that established a devolved Scottish parliament,
energy policy including power generation, oil and gas, nuclear
and coal, is managed by the U.K. energy department.
Scotland is responsible for its renewables subsidy program.
Also at issue would be how European Union climate targets
pursued by the U.K. should be reached, Davey said. European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said yesterday that any
new country must reapply to join the EU after voting for self-
determination. Scotland said it didn’t agree with that view.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story:
Sally Bakewell in London at
Sbakewell1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
