Call to end renewable energy barriers

The Prime Minister has been urged to review the ‘insane pricing policy’ which currently limits the uptake of renewable energy in Scotland.

Gordon Brown has promised to make Britain a world leader in the battle for climate change, aiming to extend the reduction in greenhouse gases from the current target of 60 per cent, to 80 per cent by 2050.

The SNP has called on him to back these green ideas with action.

Mike Weir, the SNP's environment spokesman at Westminster, said: "Gordon Brown talks grandly about leading the world in tackling climate change yet his government allows Ofgem to pursue an ideological and insane pricing regime that acts against renewable generation in the north of Scotland.

"Scotland has huge potential in wind, wave and tidal technologies and could be the green powerhouse of Europe but all of that is being put at risk because of the double whammy of Ofgem's charging regime for connection to the national grid and transmission of electricity over the grid."

Scottish government ministers have shown their commitment to the green cause by giving the go-ahead to the world’s largest wave energy project.

The £4 million project will provide power for 4000 homes, and goes some way to achieving a Europe-wide goal of producing 20 per cent of power from renewable sources by 2020.

Environmentalists have supported Mr Brown’s stance on a number of environmental issues, such as the elimination of plastic bags from shops and his commitment to binding emissions caps by 2012.

Mike Weir said: "Actions speak louder than words. Gordon Brown must back up his fine words by taking real action on these issues.

“Scotland has huge potential in renewables, indeed it has been described as the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy, but much of this is being put at risk by the insane system that Ofgem insist on pursuing.”