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The Herald Scotland
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Kate Forbes slams 'damaging' North Sea profits tax
His comments came this morning at the opening of the All-Energy Exhibition and Conference at Glasgow's SEC, where Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, highlighted the 'damaging' impact of the UK Government windfall tax on North Sea jobs. Harbour Energy blamed the Westminster Government's 'ongoing punitive fiscal position and challenging regulatory environment' as it announced plans to cut 250 onshore jobs in Aberdeen last week. It previously cited the windfall tax when it moved to cut 350 jobs in the city in 2023. Mr Anderson referenced media reports highlighting risks to the drive to net zero and the threat from surging costs, which were cited last week by Danish player Orsted as it scrapped plans for the giant Hornsea 4 wind farm off the Yorkshire coast. Despite the 'squall which hit Hornsby 4', Mr Anderson said 'there is still plenty of momentum' in the renewables sector, highlighting the publication of the UK Government's Clean Power 2030 mission and major projects lined up by his own company. These include its investment in two 'huge' wind farms in East Anglia and the £2.5 billion Eastern Green Link, which will provide an 'electricity super highway from East Lothian down to Country Durham'. However, Mr Anderson cautioned regulators against making changes to the forthcoming CfD round. Read more: He said: 'Despite the Hornsea setback, the UK still has a brilliant pipeline of opportunities. Projects are lining up to get built in our seas and transforming our grid for the better. 'However, with the next CfD auction just around the corner, we can't ignore potential policy challenges. To get the clean power 2030 targets, it has to be the most successful auction in our history. It is 'go big or go home'. It is keep things simple or risk uncertainty. Business confidence is fragile, and nothing kills confidence like complexity. 'At the International Investment Summit last year, Larry Fink from BlackRock said the UK has set the dinner table and now we wait for investor guests to arrive. His message was simple: don't change a thing. Don't start moving the chairs. Don't start fiddling with the place settings. Don't tamper with a system that works, and the investment will flow. 'Policy uncertainty and big market reforms such as zonal pricing don't help. It creates uncertainty and that increases costs. We want to get prices down, so let's be careful that reforms don't drive the market. 'A £75bn project to rewire Great Britain is in motion. It will remove over £5bn of constraint costs from the existing system, and it will provide us with a modern electricity system that we need for economic growth. You don't grow our economy by not building energy infrastructure, you don't grow by putting off electricity networks, you don't grow by putting off investors or [holding back] an industry that has been a massive British and Scottish success story.' Meanwhile, Ms Forbes hit out at the 'damaging' impact of the UK Government windfall in her address, in which she also expressed 'surprise at the scale and extent' of investor interest in proposals for a low-carbon future at the former Grangemouth oil refinery. (Image: Ross Johnston) Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic used her speech to emphasise the 'vital and strategic role that North Sea oil and gas plays in Scotland's energy system and security mix, and to underline the fact that it will do so for decades to come'. Ms Forbes said: 'We have a highly skilled workforce in those sectors, and we have been deeply concerned by the reports of job losses at offshore energy companies, including Harbour Energy. I spoke to Harbour Energy last week to reiterate that my thoughts are first and foremost with the affected workforce and to stress the importance of the just transition that we have all been proclaiming. 'We should realise the urgency of the situation, acting at pace to ensure ongoing and quality employment for that highly skilled workforce. It is clear to me from reports surrounding those job losses and from concerns being expressed by other businesses that the UK Government's energy profits levy continues to have a damaging effect. The extensions to the EPL by successive governments have damaged investment and the very supply chain that we need to deliver net zero. 'We have called on the UK Government to listen carefully to those concerns and I think it is imperative that the Chancellor and her colleagues work urgently and closely with industry through its current consultation and more widely to set out a stable, long-term fiscal regime for the North Sea to provide Scotland's offshore energy sector with much-needed certainty and importantly to make sure it is treated fairly alongside other parts of the UK economy.' However, Ms Forbes expressed confidence that new jobs could be created in Grangemouth following the closure of the oil refinery by Petroineos. She signalled strong interest has been registered in the proposals mooted by Project Willow, a government-backed study which set out nine options for the future of the site. Private sector investment is being sought for the proposals, which could see the site transition into activities such as plastic recycling or hydrogen production. Ms Forbes said: 'We have been surprised by the scale of the interest in those opportunities. That work will help to ensure that the skills, the expertise, the facilities at Grangemouth can be used to achieve a just transition for the site, while continuing to support new economic growth.' Ms Forbes urged the UK Government to provide a 'firm commitment on a timeline and funding' for the Acorn carbon capture project in the north-east of Scotland as she made the case for Scottish communities to share in the benefits of a 'just transition' of the energy system, and linked the project to the future of the former Grangemouth oil refinery. She said the Scottish Government was prepared to up the £80m it has already committed in Acorn if the UK Government 'makes the commitments that are needed' to ensure it can go ahead.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Britain's National Wealth Fund to lend Iberdrola $800 mln for UK power grid upgrades
London: Britain's National Wealth Fund will lend 600 million pounds ($802 million) to Iberdrola-owned ScottishPower to help fund upgrades to the country's power grid, they said in a joint statement on Thursday. The announcement comes a week after Spain and Portugal suffered widespread blackouts that industry experts say highlight the need for massive investment across Europe's electricity infrastructure. Britain also plans to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030, which will require major grid upgrades to help integrate new renewable plants, like wind and solar, into the energy system. "This investment will help to deliver clean power by 2030 by speeding up grid upgrades - bringing cheaper, homegrown renewable power into homes and businesses, while supporting skilled jobs across the country," Britain's energy minister Ed Miliband said in the statement. The funding will help speed up seven of ScottishPower's priority transmission grid upgrade projects, including its Eastern Green Link projects 1 and 4, which will help transport renewable power generated in Scotland to England. The financing will also deliver grid upgrades in five Scottish locations, including the building of new substations, overhead line reconfiguration and the improvement of overhead transmission cables to increase capacity and resilience, the statement said. Britain's National Wealth Fund was set up in 2024 to help spur growth and invest in clean energy projects . The investment is part of a 1.35-billion-pound financing package, led by Bank of America as sole debt arranger and including Bank of America, BankInter, BNP Paribas, Caixabank, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Banco Sabadell as lenders, the statement said.
STV News
08-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
Scottish Power given £1.35bn to build cables carrying wind power to England
Scottish Power is being handed a £1.35bn loan to upgrade the power grid between Scotland and England. The cash from the UK's National Wealth Fund and several banks will help pay for work on several major offshore cabling projects carrying electricity from wind farms in Scotland into England, via the North Sea. The UK taxpayer fund is contributing £600m to the Glasgow-based, Spanish-owned utility company. The Eastern Green Link (EGL) project will carry electricity from Torness in south-east Scotland to Hawthorn Pit substation in County Durham. Another line, the EGL four, will carry power from Fife to Lincolnshire. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the project would help 'bring down bills, put more money in working people's pockets and enable businesses to expand'. 'That is why I am so pleased to see the National Wealth Fund securing deals such as this,' she added. Currently, large amounts of power generated by Scottish wind turbines are wasted every year because the grid does not have the capacity to carry it south of the border. When bottlenecks happen, wind farms are paid to stop operating and gas power stations are paid extra to supply the energy needed. The system is known as curtailment, and cost about £1.23bn last year, according to analysis published by energy firm Drax in March, and the money is added on to energy bills. Energy secretary Ed Miliband added that the cash would 'help to deliver clean power by 2030 by speeding up grid upgrades – bringing cheaper, homegrown renewable power into homes and businesses, while supporting skilled jobs across the country'. About £600m of the funding is coming from the National Wealth Fund, a publicly-owned investment vehicle set up by the Labour government last year. The rest is coming from a series of banks, led by Bank of America and including BNP Paribas, Lloyds and NatWest. Keith Anderson, chief of Scottish Power, said working together with the financing organisations is 'an important catalyst for economic growth, as we make progress in bringing more renewables onto the system'. The financing will also help pay for grid upgrades including new substations and overhead lines in Scotland. The UK's National Energy System Operator has estimated that up to £60bn of investment is needed over the next five years to meet its clean power goals. John Flint, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said the projects will 'have a major impact on the transition to a renewables-based electricity system and help address the grid constraints that make electricity more expensive'. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
STV News
08-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
Scottish Power given £600m to build offshore cables carrying wind power to England
The UK's National Wealth Fund and several banks are handing energy firm ScottishPower a £1.35bn loan to upgrade the power grid between Scotland and England. The financing package will help pay for work on several major offshore cabling projects carrying electricity from wind farms in Scotland into England, via the North Sea. The Eastern Green Link (EGL) project one will carry electricity from Torness in south-east Scotland to Hawthorn Pit substation in County Durham. Another line, the EGL four, will carry power from Fife to Lincolnshire. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the project would help 'bring down bills, put more money in working people's pockets and enable businesses to expand'. 'That is why I am so pleased to see the National Wealth Fund securing deals such as this,' she added. Currently, large amounts of power generated by Scottish wind turbines are wasted every year because the grid does not have the capacity to carry it south of the border. When bottlenecks happen, wind farms are paid to stop operating and gas power stations are paid extra to supply the energy needed. The system is known as curtailment, and cost about £1.23bn last year, according to analysis published by energy firm Drax in March, and the money is added on to energy bills. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband added that the cash would 'help to deliver clean power by 2030 by speeding up grid upgrades – bringing cheaper, homegrown renewable power into homes and businesses, while supporting skilled jobs across the country'. About £600m of the funding is coming from the National Wealth Fund, a publicly-owned investment vehicle set up by the Labour government last year. The rest is coming from a series of banks, led by Bank of America and including BNP Paribas, Lloyds and NatWest. Keith Anderson, chief of ScottishPower, said working together with the financing organisations is 'an important catalyst for economic growth, as we make progress in bringing more renewables onto the system'. The financing will also help pay for grid upgrades including new substations and overhead lines in Scotland. The UK's National Energy System Operator has estimated that up to £60bn of investment is needed over the next five years to meet its clean power goals. John Flint, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said the projects will 'have a major impact on the transition to a renewables-based electricity system and help address the grid constraints that make electricity more expensive'. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Britain's National Wealth Fund to lend Iberdrola $800 mln for UK power grid upgrades, ET EnergyWorld
Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Download ETEnergyworld App Get Realtime updates Save your favourite articles Scan to download App London: Britain's National Wealth Fund will lend 600 million pounds ($802 million) to Iberdrola-owned ScottishPower to help fund upgrades to the country's power grid, they said in a joint statement on announcement comes a week after Spain and Portugal suffered widespread blackouts that industry experts say highlight the need for massive investment across Europe's electricity also plans to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030, which will require major grid upgrades to help integrate new renewable plants, like wind and solar, into the energy system."This investment will help to deliver clean power by 2030 by speeding up grid upgrades - bringing cheaper, homegrown renewable power into homes and businesses, while supporting skilled jobs across the country," Britain's energy minister Ed Miliband said in the funding will help speed up seven of ScottishPower's priority transmission grid upgrade projects, including its Eastern Green Link projects 1 and 4, which will help transport renewable power generated in Scotland to financing will also deliver grid upgrades in five Scottish locations, including the building of new substations, overhead line reconfiguration and the improvement of overhead transmission cables to increase capacity and resilience, the statement National Wealth Fund was set up in 2024 to help spur growth and invest in clean energy projects The investment is part of a 1.35-billion-pound financing package, led by Bank of America as sole debt arranger and including Bank of America, BankInter, BNP Paribas, Caixabank, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Banco Sabadell as lenders, the statement said.
