Councillor Sandy Keith (Elgin North) has called for an inquiry into the sale of offshore wind for prices far below equivalent prices in other areas, causing Moray to lose out on money.

The ScotWind auction reportedly placed a ‘price ceiling’ on bids, which may have resulted in Scotland missing out on up to £28 billion. Instead, the round of auctions in 2022 resulted in a receipt of £750m for approximately 27GW of
energy capacity – over double Scotland’s current renewable sector capacity.

Commenting on the matter, Cllr Keith said:

“Imagine what £2.8billion annually for 10 years could have achieved for Scotland – it would dwarf the £1billion extra funding that the COSLA President says Scottish Local Government needs every year going forward.

It seems as if the odds have been stacked in favour of big business and not the people of the North East.”

Cllr Keith’s motion called on the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy to launch an enquiry into how the auction process managed to undervalue ScotWind so greatly, and to ensure that any future bidding processes would create maximum benefit for people in Moray. It was passed unanimously by Moray Council.