Scottish and Southern buys stake in Fab Burntisland!

Windmills_on_coastline

Firstly, let me apologise for not updating the blog for a while, the business of life took over for a little while, anyway - im back now and not a moment too soon as there are several good stories in the Scottish energy scene, not least the news from a couple of days ago that SSE has bought a 15% stake in Burntisland Fabrications (BiFab). This is an interesting deal for a couple of reasons, firstly it secures the future for a Scottish company manufacturing in the energy sector: As BiFab managing director John Robertson told The Herald:

“The big advantage for the 400 to 500 people at Methil will be long-term certainty of employment because we can see 10 to 12 years ahead. That is very unusual in the fabrication industry.”

The company will now be able to open a new factory and more than double its production of jacket substructures for wind turbines. SSE is committed to buying at least 50 jackets every year from 2014.

Secondly it signals the intentions of SSE to further expand its offshore wind energy capabilities, Ian Marchant the SSE Chief Exec had this to say on the deal:

“It is essential that SSE is able to establish a reliable supply chain, particularly for those elements where manufacturing bottlenecks have already been identified as a significant risk. This investment in BiFab secures a reliable supply of offshore structures for our SSE Renewables business.”

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Scotland needs new boilers too!.........

Our friends south of the border have been eligible for a 'boiler scrappage' scheme where they can £400 towards the cost of a new one.

Well, It looks like its being considered for Scotland as well - about time, going by the state of some of the boilers ive seen. Around 12,000 homes could benefit, as could our plumbing industry.

The Scotsman has the story with a quote from Sarah Boyak (ex-environment minister, see video below) and the housing and communities officer Alex Neil has told Radio 4 that the scheme 'has not been ruled out'.

We await news with interest.

In the meantime, could you do with a new boiler?

 

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Beauly to Denny Line Confusion

Im sure that im not alone in thinking - what exactly is going on with the Beauly Denny Line Replacement?

Firstly, ministers approved the 137mile, 600 overhead pylon line (despite 18,000 objections), now it appears that some of the line could go underground after all?!...............

Or to quote Energy Minister Jim Mather developers SSE have.....

".......the option to mitigate by undergrounding."

Will someone just come clean and tell us what's going on please?!

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Sunday Herald Interview With SSE Boss

Incase any of you didn't manage to pick up a copy of this weekends Sunday Herald (Dec 6th), there was an excellent (and rare) interview with the boss of Scottish and Southern Energy Ian Marchant. He details his role as the head of the Climate Change Business Delivery Group (CCBDG), a collaboration of eco-conscious Scottish Business leaders who lobby the government and his hopes for the future of energy supply in Scotland. SSE includes Scottish Hydro Electric, SWALEC and Southern Electric in its portfolio.

Amongst some of the best quotes from the interview are:

  • “When (Climate Change Minister) Stewart Stevenson came for our meeting, I presented him with a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and said, ‘Here we are. The answer to your conundrum on climate change is on p.187, which is where the answer to the universe – 42 – is revealed.”
  • “To crack renewable heat in the same scale as electricity is the real opportunity”
  • “To have a sustainable business in the long term, you have to be meeting society’s needs. Society does not need me to screw the planet"

Read the full interview here.

What do you think about the interview, are you impressed with what Mr Marchant has to say?

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Scots Less Likely To Switch Energy Suppliers: Study

A very interesting report from Consumer Focus Scotland has been published. Switching Off: Attitudes to switching energy suppliers among disadvantaged consumers details the many issues that disadvantaged groups within Scotlands communities (those on low incomes, lone parents, people with learning disabilities and members of Black and Minority Ethnic communities) have with changing their energy supplier.

Perhaps some of these energy companies would do well to pay heed to this advice, many of the issues highlighted are not with the switch itself but with their own customer service.

CFS have summarised their principal findings as follows:

Key findings included that disadvantaged consumers:

  • Are having difficulty understanding their energy bills and in monitoring how much energy they use.
  • Face problems contacting energy suppliers, with automated telephone lines highlighted as a particular problem.
  • Find that paying for energy is a significant part of their household costs.
  • Are commonly using pre-payment meters, a more expensive way of paying for energy.

On issues around switching energy supplier, those surveyed said that:

  • Cost savings were the main incentive to switch, but this was usually a reactive rather than proactive decision.
  • They were likely to stay with current suppliers for reasons of inertia, uncertainty and anxiety, lack of trust, loyalty or negative experiences of doorstep selling.
  •  If they did decide to switch supplier, they were faced with a significant range of barriers including lack of independent and accessible information; difficulties making comparisons; pressure from existing suppliers to reconsider; and unexpectedly high charges from existing suppliers to switch.
The report can be dowloaded in full in various formats from here.
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Glendoe Won't Be Up and Running Until 2011, Oh Dear

Not the best news to start this site off with but anyway, some things can't be helped. Scottish and Southern Energy has announced that its Glendoe hydro electricity scheme will not be producing any power at all until 2011. This is due to repair needing done on the August rockfall which blocked one of the main tunnels providing water to one of the turbines. On a slightly more positive note SSE has announced that it will be seeking planning permission for two new hydro electric power schemes at Coire Glas (Loch Lochy) and Balmacaan at Loch Ness - the first of their kind in Britain since 1974. We look forward to all of these hydro schemes getting up and running ASAP.

Read thre full story over at the BBC website.

Here's a video of what Glendoe will be like when it gets going!

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Thanks for visiting!

Hi everyone, this is my first post on Posterous - exciting times. Ive set this page up in order to post any relevant news and views from the Scottish Energy scene. This is a pet subject of mine and there is a developing story almost every day, so there should be plenty to write about. Id love to have loads of comments from all the Posterous community, especially if you live in Scotland and these issues affect you!

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