THE SCOTTISH Council for Development and Industry claims that construction companies working in the renewable energy field are being “disastrously” affected by delays in the system and the amount of time spent in public inquiries, writes Bruce Robbins, business reporter.

The SCDI said many developers were struggling to move ahead with projects due to the “huge capacity” tied up in the process.

Fabricators such as Vestas and CamCal were suffering job losses as a consequence of the impact on their order books caused by the tardiness of the system.

The SCDI said the Scottish Executive needed a renewable energy strategy to address all short and long-term issues over a period of the next 20 years if industry and local economies are to benefit from the new technology.

Welcoming the Executive’s consultation on the subject, the SCDI praised the progress being made towards its target of 18% of the country’s power generation coming from renewable resources by 2010.

However, it said more had to be done to overcome the problems holding the industry back.

The council has made a number of other recommendations to strengthen the Executive’s policy, advocating that:

*Focus is extended to other renewable technologies and not just onshore wind.

*More leadership/guidance is needed on key upgrades to the electricity grid which will be necessary to meet ministers’ 2010 and 2020 aspirations.

*The planning system should be used to require more local involvement in the development and construction of projects to provide wider economic benefit for Scottish industry.

*High standards in the energy efficiency of domestic and commercial building design have to be set as well as proposed measures to incorporate more on-site renewable energy technology

.