Transmission Charges a Threat to UK Green Energy Industry

[AE-NMidlands]

https://www.offshorewind.biz/2021/05/25 ... ry-report/

New analysis by RIDG (Renewable Infrastructure Development Group), a member company of RenewableUK, highlights the stark anomalies in how electricity generators access the GB market, with operators in Germany, France, and the Netherlands able to export energy significantly cheaper than projects in the UK, because they pay very low transmission charges, or none at all, RenewableUK said.

As a result, the UK risks becoming a net importer of renewable energy in the decades ahead, despite having the best wind energy resource in Europe which should, with the right regulations in place, be used to drive export-led growth, according to the newly released report, entitled “Charging The Wrong Way”.

Although the UK Prime Minister is focussed on levelling up economic opportunities for all parts of the country in a Green Industrial Revolution, this analysis shows how Ofgem is overseeing a system which favours investment in the south of England and the EU, the report says.

The analysis shows that on average, EU generators pay GBP 0.46 per megawatt hour (MWh) in transmission system charges, while in Scotland the average this year is GBP 6.42/MWh. Move to the windy north of Scotland and the price spikes to GBP 7.36/MWh, with prices forecast to rise further still.
and so on.

Depressing.