Wind farm report to be kept secret

TRADE body Scottish Renewables last night criticised accountancy firm KPMG’s decision not to publish its controversial report into the cost of offshore wind power.

A row broke out after a leaked press release containing figures from the report was used by the BBC’s Panorama series in November. KPMG had originally said it hoped to publish the report but has now decided not to release it because it was “open to misinterpretation” due to its findings being “too complex”.

Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “This is obviously very embarrassing for a firm such as KPMG given its core business and its strong reputation for sound advice and information, which has been built up over many years.

“This whole episode reinforces that energy policy is an incredibly complex issue and one that requires a well-informed debate based on robust statistics.”