Meeting of the Parliament 06 December 2016
The result of the division is: For 92, Against 29, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament notes the UK Government’s announcement on the second renewable energy Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round; acknowledges the latest round as a potential opportunity for Scottish offshore wind farms to compete for contracts; notes its strong concern that the UK Government has effectively excluded island wind projects from this CfD allocation, despite repeated assurances to the contrary following a 2013 consultation; further notes with concern the UK Government’s decision not to provide a minimum allocation for Scotland’s world-leading marine energy technologies, therefore overlooking their potential to supply a substantial contribution to future energy needs and to develop a domestic engineering base; considers that the UK Government has, to date, failed to respond positively to calls from the Scottish Government and industry for a “route to market” to unlock investment in consented pumped hydro storage projects; notes the Scottish Government’s efforts to coordinate development of the offshore wind supply chain; supports the Scottish Government in its efforts to work with the renewable energy industry to identify the most appropriate means by which it can use those powers at its disposal to support the development of the renewable energy sector, across a range of technologies, and to ensure that the sector has the financial and political support that it requires; notes that the Scottish Government has not set a specific target for the number of jobs that the renewables sector should create; therefore urges it to do more for jobs that will support Scotland’s economy, and recognises that this should include the full use of transferable skills of the oil and gas sector so that they can be utilised in the renewables sector across a range of alternative energy projects.