One of National Grid’s most senior executives has spent the day with Argyll and Bute Council, discussing the area’s renewable energy potential and how best to harness it.

Alison Kay, the organisation’s Commercial Director, met with Council Leader Dick Walsh, Chief Executive Sally Loudon and other key staff.

She also took part in a stakeholders’ meeting involving representatives from some of the main players in the renewables sector, including Scottish Power Renewables and Scottish and Southern Energy, as well as the council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Natural Heritage and Community Energy Scotland.

As an outcome of the meeting, the council has committed itself to facilitating a major event later in the year at which all the key Scottish transmission companies and developers, as well as Government and National Grid representatives, will come together to discuss the capacity of the grid and the issue of transmission and connection charges.

The existing regime levies higher access charges for access and use of the transmission network on generators furthest from centres of demand – effectively discouraging energy extraction from peripheral areas such as Argyll and Bute where the resource is often at its strongest and significantly impacting their ability to bring forward projects which use emerging technologies such as wave and tidal.

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Councillor Dick Walsh, Argyll and Bute Council Leader, welcomed Alison’s visit.

“Argyll and Bute Council has ambitions to be at the forefront of the provision of renewable energy for Scotland, and offers a huge renewable resource of wave, tidal, wind, hydro and biomass. If harnessed and managed correctly, this could offer significant economic opportunities for some of our remote and fragile communities,” he said.

“Some of the challenges we face are significant but not insurmountable, a key one being how we feed green energy into the national grid.

“Alison’s visit is an opportunity for the leaders in renewable energy in Argyll and Bute to convey to National Grid what we perceive as the challenges we face, and we are confident that this will form the basis for future productive discussions on what is becoming an increasingly important economic driver for Argyll and Bute.”

Alison Kay said: "Scotland's huge potential for renewable energy will make a valuable contribution to the energy revolution happening in Britain.

“By working together, National Grid, Argyll and Bute Council, our colleagues in the Scottish electricity transmission companies and all the other interested parties can help ensure this potential is realised in the area."

Councillor Walsh said he recognised that Argyll and Bute has a significant role to play, both now and in the future, in assisting the UK and Scottish Governments in meeting their renewable energy targets.

“This morning we agreed to set up a major event later in the year at which the issues which concern us most in this regard can be fully explored,” he added.

“We look forward to working in partnership with National Grid and all other relevant stakeholders as we move these matters forward.”

National Grid, in its role as the Great Britain System Operator for electricity, plays a key role in facilitating the connection of new generation to the national transmission system.

(GK)