SCOTLAND’S next government must work with industry to develop a clear framework for investment in renewable energy, the All-Energy 2016 event heard yesterday.

“Whoever makes-up the new government here in Scotland on Friday, I hope that they will work with us and the UK government to find common ground and a way forward for renewables,” said Keith Anderson, chief corporate officer of ScottishPower.

Mr Anderson was one of more than 450 speakers at the UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition and conference, which continues today at Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

“Yes, we need more flexibility from Westminster to allow the continued development of onshore wind,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean asking for subsidy and it can’t involve trying to embarrass the government into backing down from existing statements or policy. But it does require us to work with them to find a way of creating some clarity and framework for investment.”

Mr Anderson also called for action on energy storage, noting that 50,000 megawatt hours of electricity – enough to power 12,500 homes for a year – was shut down from wind farms over the UK’s Easter weekend because there was nowhere to store it.

“The most pressing issue is the fact that the world simply does not have enough capacity to store electricity,” he explained. “Again, we are not asking for subsidy to invest in electricity storage. But we do need a government policy that would support our investment. And I see this as an ideal way of finding common ground between Holyrood and Westminster.”

Sir Jim McDonald, principal and vice chancellor at the University of Strathclyde and co-chair of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Energy Advisory Board – a collaboration between government and industry to develop energy strategy – said 2015 had been a “troubling” year as the UK government undid a raft of renewable policies.

“There was a commitment to nuclear in the long-term and gas in the short-term, but no clear signal for investment, particularly in Scotland,” he said. “No large-scale onshore wind support and a large reduction in support for solar. There was also an end to the Green Deal (a government subsidy scheme for home insulation) and the cancellation of the zero carbon homes requirement. With colleagues from the Scottish Government, we’ve now started to think about an alternative approach.”

Options include reducing the demand for heat by building warmer homes; reducing emissions from transport through lower carbon fuels and electric vehicles; new energy storage facilities and the use of ‘smart’ technology to maximise the use of renewable energy.

Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said the sector had grown from a “cottage industry” ten years ago and was now “standing on the precipice of delivering energy cheaper than fossil fuels.”

All-Energy is held in association with the Renewable Energy Association, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group and host city Glasgow.

The event features more than 400 exhibitors from 14 countries including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the US as well as all parts of the UK.

The Society for Underwater Technology is the show’s Learned Society Patron, while UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is All-Energy’s Key International Trade Partner. A further 40 organisations including government departments, professional bodies and trade associations act as supporters of the two-day annual event.