The independent Baringa report,commissioned jointly by the two governments, claimed that the islands' renewablescould deliver up to 5% of UK electricity demand by 2030, create tens of thousandsof jobs, and contribute more than £30m ($50m) a year in community benefits.

But “key uncertainties remain over both the levelof support for renewable generation and the cost of using the transmissionnetwork," said Scotland’s energy minister Fergus Ewing.

"These