Scottish Energy Scene

The new year is starting promisingly for Scotland with talk of over 500 jobs being created in Fife. Korean super company Samsung are intent on bringing a project to develop a new generation wind turbine at a reported cost of around £100 million.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) the worlds second largest ship builder are planning on basing their maiden European wind project at the Fife Energy Park in Methil.  

The firm plans to test its new, more powerful 7MW turbine offshore at Methil before starting to take orders to build them at the site.

SHI have also signed a promising deal with engineering company David Brown Gear Systems and it is their gearbox system that shall be used in the new wind turbine.

Alex Salmond the Scottish First Minister is delighted by the news "Their choice of Scotland as their first base in Europe for renewable technology development is testament to the fact this country is fast becoming the European centre for research and development in new offshore wind technologies.”

However not everyone is happy about the increasing number of wind farm developments in Scotland. American billionaire Donald Trump is currently fighting plans to build 11 offshore wind turbines in Aberdeen Bay, which would be in full view of his golf resort. In fact Mr Trump feels so strongly there has been talk of him pulling out of the build.

I guess you can’t please everyone.

Even with all the uncertainty surrounding the feed-in tariff High Court decisions, it’s not all bad news for solar energy in the UK.

For the first time ever the UK’s solar industry has forced its way into the worlds top 10. This is believed to be at least partly due to the Government incentives which have managed to give a real push to solar panel sales as more and more people try to take advantage of the generous feed-in tariff rate.   

Even with the uncertainty facing the scheme at the moment – the UK is still producing massive amount of solar energy and contributing to the combined worldwide total of 23.8GW. 2011 was a big year for solar with a 1,273% increase in solar installations compared to 2010, this was made up of nearly 700MW of smaller sized installations completed along with around 200MW of large-scale developments greater than 50kW.

In 3^rd place is the United States, followed by China, Japan and France. In a respectable 7^th place the UK has entered the table with total generation into 800MW.

The US completes the top three, followed by China, Japan and France. With a total well into 800MW, the UK moves into seventh spot globally.

It is great news for the UK to be getting recognised for their support of solar power and hopefully it will inspire even more countries to do the same. After all with the current feed-in tariffs solar power offers a lot of benefits to businesses and homeowners, not to mention the fact it’s doing a great job of reducing our dependency upon fossil fuels.

Figures show that there is a pipeline of around £46 billion of investment for renewables in Scotland which should generate up to 17GW of energy capacity.

Fergus Ewing – Scotland’s Energy minister has said he is “relentlessly positive” regarding 2012.

It is believed that such a large scale investment will help create jobs throughout Scotland and put Scotland even further on its path to creating 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. In fact figures showed that in the first quarter of 2011 Scotland had generated 94% of 2010’s entire output.

A new wind farm in the Scottish Highlands has finally been connected to the national grid, with the first two turbines now online and generating electricity. This is good news for SSE as it means they are beginning to see a return on what is expected to be a £100 million investment.

The wind farm will be home to 35 turbines in total that once complete will generate around 180GWh a year. At the moment 15 of the 35 wind towers have been erected and the full site is expected to be operational by the end of this financial year.

It is yet another strong move by SSE to further establish themselves as the UK's leading renewable energy supplier SSE’s Managing Director of Renewables Jim Smith said “As the UK’s leading generator of electricity from renewable sources, SSE is committed to helping increase the amount of renewable electricity generation in the UK, and the export of electricity at Gordonbush is a step towards achieving this.”
Source: www.SSE.com

Granite could be the latest renewable feather in Scotlands growing energy cap. It's always been plentiful in Scotland and Aberdeen is internationally known as the 'Granite City'. 

However a new level of excitement is surrounding this grey rock as there are many who believe it could bring about a second energy boom and go a long way to further strengthening Scotland's place on the energy map.

I know what your thinking.... How can a rock generate energy?

Well....About four miles straight down from the earths surface, the temperature rises by around 150°C. However, the interesting bit is that where there is granite rock, the temperature can rise by as much as 210°C. This is the temperature that can create hot springs, the likes of which have been used for bathing. But scientists now believe that these same “hot rocks” can provide a valuable source for electricity generation. Most importantly if this source was proven efficient it is yet another feasible renewable energy source for Scotland.

Estimates have shown that a demonstrative geothermal energy plant could be constructed somewhere between Aberdeen and Peterhead, and would generate approximately £750 million of investment in its first 10 years of operation. 

However the whole project is relying on whether or not the subterranean granite can generate enough power to keep the plant running. 

If not...we could always use another spa resort.

Here's a BBC report we didn't want to read - local councils are refusing planning for new wind turbine farms at an 'alarming rate' according to RenewableUK, an industry body.

The organisation has reported that approvals are at their lowest in five years, and were taking than usual to clear.

With wind energy rising above 10% of the UK's total energy consumption this year, these reports are not encouraging - and at this rate are unlikely to keep the UK going in the right direction.

What do you think about this report on the approval processes required for wind farms.

SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy) is the parent company for Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro, SWALEC and Atlantic. And it would appear that they are attempting to give the energy market a boost by trying to make it easier for new companies to gain a foothold in what is considered a particularly competitive market place.

SSE one of the UK's biggest energy supplier’s is looking forward to auctioning off its entire electricity supply on the wholesale market. Some industry experts are saying that this is going to have a massive effect on the way that the entire energy market operates.

This is the first time such a move has even been hinted at by any member of the ‘Big Six’ energy companies never mind planned and implemented. SSE believes this should go a long way to helping the smaller companies move into the marketplace faster.

SSE said their initial plan is to sell around 25% of their power on the wholesale market by November. However the larger goal is to be selling 100% of their energy on the market by the end of their financial year.

The question is: Will this really make much difference to the consumer?

We’d love to get some opinion on this, so please feel free to leave your comments or get in touch.

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The Orkney Islands have long been defined by their weather and harsh conditions, and these days things are no different there’s still few trees or crops and the weather is still pretty dismal. However as shown time and again the harshest conditions can bring the greatest innovations.

The Orkneys have found themselves home to a generation of eco-pioneers intent on using the uniquely harsh weather found around the Orkneys to produce renewable energy. So even though the islands are on the outskirts of Britain they are at the heart of what is making the UK a global leader in the race for renewable energy technology.

The renewable industry is bringing life back to these islands with new jobs, growing communities and a strong supply chain. Companies like the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) are huge in the wave and tidal sector. In fact they are one of the few companies to offer developers the opportunity to test full scale prototypes in the sea. Not to mention the fact that these companies are now employing graduates from the islands and allowing existing businesses to grow.

A large part of the success can be attributed to the support of the local people, who are definitely on board with the exciting new direction their islands are taking. It would appear that things are definitely looking bright for the Orkneys, with the promise of jobs, international investment and to cap it all a £3m investment in the old naval base should help to continue the growth of the Orkneys.

Scottish and Southern Energy’s Clyde wind farm has been generating green electricity without a hitch for over a month now, and progress is said to be steady.  The site will eventually be home to 152 turbines and should hopefully be completed by 2012, with the first of the 3 sections finished by the end of 2011.

SSE were only able to get things started after coming to an agreement with NATs, the air traffic control body operating in the area. It is believed they had some concerns about the safety of aircraft flying over the area whilst a new radar site is being installed.  

SSE are said to be extremely excited about the project and are looking forward to its completion their Chief Operating Officer stated "Clyde is an important project for SSE and for the achievement of wider renewable energy targets and first generation of electricity from the wind farm is a key milestone."

However it’s not just SSE who is benefiting, the energy giants have invested over £500 million in the project and more than £200 million of that has found its way to Scottish companies via contracts for work.

Another huge bonus for Scotland is that the project has created more than 200 construction jobs until its completion and then a minimum of 30 people will be employed to help maintain and operate the site.

The project is being hailed as a huge step towards Scotland reaching its renewable energy targets with the site expected to have sufficient capacity to power 275,000 homes.  

Scottish Hydro has pulled off quite a coup today, after plans were announced for Glasgow’s newest cutting-edge events venue.  Scottish Hydro managed to secure a 10 year deal where-by the venue shall be named the Scottish Hydro Arena.

Forecasts show that the new 12,000 seat venue should contribute around £131 million a year to Scotland’s economy after it opens its doors in 2013.

The Arena is looking to host around 140 events a year from music to sports, and should hopefully attract over a million visitors, which would make it one of the worlds most attended venues.

In essence Scottish Hydro will be sponsoring the building, to the tune of £1.5 million per year for the next 10 years. 

Chief Executive of the SECC has said the arena will host an “unrivalled programme of world-class events” and that “To be partnering with a successful and established FTSE top 30 UK brand with Scottish roots is part of our commitment to working with the best in the business.”

If your interested, you can keep up-to-date with the project online at http://www.hydro.co.uk/