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Scotland’s relatively strong winds has never been put to good use by any other entity as British energy firm SSE (LSE:SSE), which today said it has put a 350-megawatts wind farm into operations, opened by no less than Scotlands First Minister, Alex Salmond.
The Clyde wind farm, a152-turbine £500 million project, is set to provide a year’s power to 280,000 households, who are now preparing for the 9% increase in gas and electricity charges to be imposed by the energy provider beginning 15th October.
Despite that, Minister Salmond himself heralded Clyde’s operational debut as good news for both SSE and its servicing community.
“Harnessing this through renewable energy offers the prospect of tens of thousands of new jobs and billions of pounds of investment in our economy – nothing less than the reindustrialisation of Scotland,” Mr. Salmond stated.
The Clyde farm project has already employed some 400 employees during its construction and has resulted in contracts to companies in Scotland worth £100 million.
In addition, SSE has set up a Community Investment Fund, which will receive £875,000 annually from the firm for 25 years, to be invested into the communities surrounding the 47-square kilometre site.
Reaffirming Position
SSE’s latest wind farm adds power to the already 3,000 MW capacity of the company, coming from renewable sources, which account for 14% of the firm’s energy supply.
This follows last week’s commissioning of the 500MW 140-turbine offshore wind farm in the Thames Estuary, where SSE holds 50% interest in the joint venture.
“Clyde makes a significant contribution to SSE’s position as the largest generator of electricity from wind across the UK and Ireland,” Chief Executive, Ian Merchant, said in a statement.
However, future investments in the renewable energy is facing a challenge as the British Government declared a 30% reduction in the Renewable Obligations Certificates that power companies receive per unit of energy produced.
The decision by the Department of Energy and Climate Change is fueled by the government’s plan for the renewable energy sector to be self-sustaining and competitive, while at the same time support the nation’s plan to reduce carbon emission by 80% in 2050.
In the City, investors welcomed the news and SSE shares added 13 pence to their price, or 0.9% of yesterday’s worth, to £14.02, with over 2 million shares traded by 3:30 PM GMT.
