Energy spend to peak in 2014

CAPITAL expenditure in Scottish energy industries is expected to peak in 2014, with spending on wind power partly making up for declining investment in gas.

Figures announced today by energy economist Tony Mackay of Mackay Consultants predict that the annual average figure will peak at £8.5 billion by 2014, before steadily declining to £4.3bn in 2020.

Wind energy is expected to nearly triple its 2010 share of the total expenditure, going from 6 per cent to 17 per cent by 2020.

Mackay’s prediction coincides with a report by Oil & Gas UK which says that production in the North Sea fell following the hike in tax rates imposed in the 2011 Budget.