EDP chief warns of delays to Scotland wind project after Brexit vote

By TPN/Lusa, in News · 01-07-2016 15:04:00 · 0 Comments

The chief executive of Energias de Portugal (EDP), António Mexia, said that the group's plans for an offshore wind project off the coast of Scotland could be delayed as a result of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.

"In the Scotland project there could be delays in the launch of the competition, in which we remain interested," Mexia told journalists in response to questions about the impact of Brexit on the group.

Speaking in a break from a conference in Lisbon on 'The Future of Energy' the EDP chief executive said that "the project is awaiting a political decision" and that the company could do no more than wait.

Moray Offshore Renewable, a local subsidiary of EDP's renewables arm EDP Renováveis, has plans to build and operate 1,116 MW of wind-power capacity - sufficient to supply some 700 000 people. In February, EDP Renováveis increased its stake to 100% by acquiring the 30% of the shares that its Spanish partner Repsol had held in the project.

According to Mexia, the UK is among the European countries that most needs extra energy capacity and which has been "giving clear signals of changing the rules of the game so that there is investment in the sector".

Last Thursday 51.9% of UK voters who expressed a preference in a referendum on whether the country should remain in the European Union voted to leave.

On Friday the country's prime minister, David Cameron, announced his resignation with effect in October. Other EU leaders have called for the Brexit process to be as rapid as possible.