An “obsession” with subsidy-free renewables risks becoming a serious own-goal for the industry that could hamper the prospects for large-scale development, warned the chief executive of ScottishPower, the Iberdrola-owned utility that’s leading one of the world’s largest offshore wind builds off the UK.

Keith Anderson said the notion of subsidy-free renewables fails to take account of the massive investments required to advance large-scale projects, and the need for some type of mechanism to underpin that commitment.