The EU has been urged to take action to ensure charges for renewable energy production in Scotland are fair.

OFGEM, the UK organisation which regulates the UK gas and electricity networks, operates a pricing structure that ensures electricity generators seeking to connect to the grid pay increased charges the further away from "the market" they are.

This leads to electricity generators in Scotland paying considerably higher charges than others further south.

Mr Smith has this week lodged a Parliamentary Question obliging the Commission to state on the record what action it proposes to take on the transmission charging. Smith has the backing of the renewables sector, and has identified the charging regime as one of the biggest hindrances to the development of the renewables sector in Scotland.

Speaking from Edinburgh Mr Smith said:

"It is just bizarre that Scotland, which should be Europe's green powerhouse, is being held back by the pricing regime operated from London by an organisation that clearly does not have the promotion of renewables as an objective.

"The SNP government has made great progress in kicking on Scotland's green energy revolution, but the cost of accessing the grid remains one of the biggest obstacles, and an obstacle the Scottish Government currently has no power over.

"I think we can fix it from the European end. With the new Renewables Directive now in place I hope that the Commission will be able to find some teeth and fix this once and for all.

"I'm glad that it was my amendment to the Renewables as it was passing through my committee which now forms the basis of the appeal we are today making to the Commission. Where there was previously uncertainty over the legal powers, the Commission now has teeth, and I want to see them used to force OFGEM, and the UK government, to reverse this policy."