British utility SSE has today cut its five-year investment plans by 15%, or £3 billion, reflecting project delays, supply chain disruptions and also changes in the economic outlook.
SSE, which has been pushing ahead towards green energy goals, reduced its investment to around £17.5 billion, with its renewables division taking the biggest hit with a £1.5 billion cut.
Projects that face delays include Berwick Bank, the world's largest offshore wind farm off Scotland's east coast, hydroelectric project Coire Glas, also in Scotland and Arklow Bank wind park in Ireland, CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies said in a media call.
Phillips-Davies said planning bottlenecks and slow policy uptake have also stalled SSE's thermal power and transmission projects.
US President Donald Trump's overt opposition towards wind power has caused problems for the renewable energy sector, where projects are being cancelled and delayed due to rising costs and disrupted supply chains.
Trump's trade policies have also sparked concerns about the health of the global economy. Companies are worried that his tariffs will cause trade disruptions, rising costs, increasing volatility, and weaker demand.
"The group's investment plans have not been immune to the changing macroeconomic environment and wider delays to the planning processes which have been seen over the last twelve months," SSE said in a statement.
Rival National Grid booked a $402m impairment charge last week on a paused US wind project and said it saw "no immediate prospect of that project developing".
But Phillips-Davies noted that the UK government's new planning regime, which aims to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030, represents a positive development.
SSE said its adjusted operating profit came in flat at £2.42 billion for the year ended March 31, compared with £2.43 billion last year.
The owner of SSE Airtricity did not break down its profits by country, but did say it paid £75m in tax in Ireland - up more than 10% year on year.
The company supplies over 460,000 electricity customers and almost 310,000 gas customers across the island of Ireland, while it employs 1,300 people here.
