Utility SSE reduces investment plans by $4 Billion due to project delays
British utility SSE cut its investment plans for the next five years by 15% or 3 billion pounds (4,04 billion dollars) on Wednesday, due to project delays, disruptions in supply chains and changes in economic outlook.
SSE has reduced its investment in green energy to 17.5 billion pounds. Its renewables division took the biggest hit, with a 1.5-billion-pound reduction.
In a press conference, Alistair Phillips Davies, CEO of the company, said that there are a number of projects facing delays, including Berwick Bank, which is the largest offshore wind farm in Scotland, Coire Glas hydroelectric project, also in Scotland, and Arklow Bank Wind Park in Ireland.
Phillips-Davies added that planning bottlenecks, and a slow adoption of policy have also stalled SSE’s thermal power projects and transmission.
The overt opposition of U.S. president Donald Trump to wind power has created problems in the renewable energy industry, which is seeing projects cancelled or delayed because of rising costs and disruptions in supply chains.
Trump's policies on trade have also raised concerns about the state of the global economic system. Businesses are concerned that Trump's tariffs could cause disruptions in trade, higher costs, increased volatility and weaker demand.
SSE released a statement saying that "the Group's investments plans have not been immune from the changing macroeconomic climate and the wider delays in the planning processes, which we have seen over the past twelve months."
Rival National Grid took a $402m impairment charge on a U.S. wind-project that was halted last week and stated it had "no immediate prospects of this project developing".
Phillips-Davies remarked that the new planning regime of the Labour government, which aims at decarbonising the electricity sector by the year 2030, is a positive step.
SSE's share price was up 1.2% at 0843 GMT.
SSE reported that its adjusted operating profits were flat at 2,42 billion pounds, compared to 2.43 billion pounds in the previous year.
(source: Reuters)
