Stone supports call for funding change for renewable energy projects
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Jamie Stone is among more than 80 Members of Parliament who have urged the UK Government to reform the way public money is allocated to renewable energy projects.
They want energy minister Claire Perry to make available "a pool of allocated funding for marine technologies", including tidal stream projects such as MeyGen in the Pentland Firth.
The MPs say the existing Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions are not the best way of supporting marine renewables when they try to secure early investment in small developments before driving costs down at the commercial stage. The mechanism could be reformed to change that.
In their letter to Ms Perry, they claim proposed tax incentives rather than consumer-funded subsidies would be a better way to support the nascent industry so taxpayers are not paying for the financial backing through their energy bills.
The MPs also point out a forthcoming energy white paper provides the "perfect opportunity" for the Government to make sure the UK remains at the forefront of wave and tidal stream developments, especially as other countries such as Canada and China are supporting their own industries with subsidies.
The letter was written by Richard Graham, the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on marine energy and tidal lagoons, and signed by more than 80 MPs.
Mr Graham stresses the UK is the world leader for wave and tidal stream technologies with 45 British companies active in the industry. He says the way to drive down costs is by deploying technology, such as tidal arrays, in the sea.
Meanwhile, subsea test equipment will be used to study any interaction between the tidal turbines and marine mammals in the Pentland Firth.
The equipment will check on the movements of seal and cetaceans in the vicinity of the turbines and assess whether there are any risk of collisions.
The four MeyGen demonstration turbines in the firth generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 2600 homes. It is fed into the local distribution network from the substation at Hastigrow, and gets the electricity by a underground cable from the onshore power conversion unit at Ness of Quoys on the shores of Gills Bay.
