Lord Jim Wallace encourages the Scottish government to make the £1bn wind energy funding available

15 September 2009

Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland Lord Jim Wallace suggests the government must act now in order to ensure independent wind developers benefit from its £1bn promise to the onshore wind sector.

In the midst of the credit crunch Lord Wallace is encouraging the government to make the funds more accessible to the small and medium sized independent developers that have been affected.

Lord Wallace said, ‘In July, the government announced three banks – RBS, Lloyds and BNP Faribas Fortis – would be working with the European Investment Bank to lend £1bn to onshore wind projects. It is vital that this money reaches those who really need it. If we have any chance of achieving our targets for 2020, it is clear we cannot rely solely on the utility companies or major corporate developers.’

The benefits to be gained from renewable energy development have been evident in the new wind project on the Island of Westray, within what was Lord Wallace’s Orkney Islands constituency. The project, owned by a community development trust, provides the island with a sustainable income and drives community environmental and sustainability projects.

Lord Wallace added, ‘There are numerous projects of this size throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK which have been consented but which cannot move forward due to lack of credit finance. The government needs to spell out, very quickly and very clearly, how the smaller independent sector can access these funds so we can get these projects moving and create a more sustainable future for all.’

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: wind

This story was published on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Europe, policy, wind. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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