Does Scotland have enough energy resources? https://indylibrary.scot/ en How to keep the lights on https://indylibrary.scot/how-to-keep-the-lights-on <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">How to keep the lights on</span> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Question Answered</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Thu, 28/10/2021 - 16:07</span> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=14&amp;2=like_content" token="qdAZi4V12oRWpDr1IzU8Ke-YDmR_-Xm7ohE3vg90HPc"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><span><span><strong>How to we 'keep the lights on' in an independent Scotland?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span><span><em>How do we make sure Scotland's electricity supply is secure on independence?</em></span></span></p> <p><span><span>There are three bits of the energy system – generating the power, distributing the power to households and businesses and selling power to customers. In the UK this is all privatised and it must be assumed that generation and retail of energy will still be privatised on independence. But it doesn't make any sense to keep the distribution of power privatised because this is an issue for national security and the UK is the only country in Europe that has privatised distribution. While there are all sorts of very good reasons for reforming the energy system after independence, that is for future governments. But securing distribution should be part of the transition planning.</span></span></p> <p><span><span><em>So how do we make sure the electricity keeps flowing?</em></span></span></p> <p><span><span>It's not just electricity through the National Grid, it's gas through the gas grid as well. Both are overseen and managed by what is called a Transmission System Operator (TSO). At the moment this is split up between a few different private companies across the UK but in Scotland it is the responsibility of Scottish Power Networks. It should be converted into a Scottish TSO, but the technical infrastructure and personnel are all in place so this is just a transition to a publicly-owned model. Other that than that, Scotland generates more than enough electricity to meet domestic needs and until policy changes will remain part of the UK energy market. With gas the same applies – purchasing gas and distributing it via the gas grid won't be any different after independence.</span></span></p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author or Creator</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/683" hreflang="en">Electricity</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/650" hreflang="en">Gas</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/416" hreflang="en">Power supplies</a></div> </div> </div> Thu, 28 Oct 2021 15:07:32 +0000 Stephen Richard 14 at https://indylibrary.scot Energy resources of Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/energy-resources-of-scotland <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Energy resources of Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Question Answered</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 18/10/2021 - 12:47</span> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=68&amp;2=like_content" token="pEjbIYmqU4cpyyXaQeLEqGqmsS9DLaH8cpVOLa3LVxc"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Scotland is blessed with remarkable renewable energy resources but has cold winters, a lot of inefficient housing, a very high reliance on gas heating and a particular reliance on transport. We need to tackle all of these. The hardest is heating – there is simply no easy solution to weaning ourselves off natural gas. Alternatives which use the same infrastructure (like hydrogen) are very expensive and alternatives like electric heating (also comparatively expensive) would require enormous amounts of work to replace existing household heating systems and would require a very big investment in both more electricity generation and the electricity grid. There is no quick, easy way to do this and retrofitting renewable heating (like Heat Pumps) to most existing houses isn’t realistic. So if we’re going to have to make a massive investment, let’s get it right.</p> <p>The first step is that we must make our houses much more efficient so we don’t need to heat them so much in the first place, so a major programme of insulating and draft-proofing houses is the first step. Then we need to put in place a heating system which will last for many generations, is clean and efficient and inexpensive for households. The best option is a ‘district heating’ system, where heat is generated in lots of different ways (all renewable), collected in a heat store and then distributed to houses as they need it via a network of pipes. Households just need to switch their existing boilers for heat exchangers and the rest of their heating system should work as is. Make no mistake, this is a truly immense engineering project, but so is anything that heats our homes without feeding a climate emergency.</p> <p>Electricity is more straightforward in Scotland because of our renewable resources – but we’re going to need more of it. To meet future demand and produce enough spare energy to ensure energy security we will need to double the amount of currently-installed renewable generation and put a lot of energy storage in place. But that’s not enough because if we also want to move to clean transport we’ll need more electricity again – in total about three times what we currently have. Thankfully this can all be achieved with onshore and offshore wind in Scotland, leaving our marine energy resources for other purposes. And if we do it right we can take not only all this new energy into public ownership but the existing energy as well – so we control our own energy system.</p> <p>Which leaves transport. This too is a massive task – we need to replace the entire fleet of petroleum-based transport. It is almost certain the way to do this is to move to electric battery-power for smaller vehicles like cars and vans and to hydrogen for big vehicles like lorries and ferries. But to achieve that we’ll also need all that extra electricity, a source of clean hydrogen and major investment in charging and refuelling infrastructure.</p> <p>So where do we get our clean hydrogen from? This is where Scotland’s marine energy comes in. At the moment almost all commercial hydrogen produces carbon dioxide, not when it is used but when it is created in the first place by breaking down natural gas. Clean hydrogen is made with electricity and water – but it needs a lot of electricity. Thankfully Scotland has massive wave and tidal energy opportunities and these can be used to make hydrogen for vehicle transport. Even more than that, it can give Scotland a world lead in hydrogen technology and because we have much more marine energy than we need for domestic transport it is also potentially an amazing export opportunity.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author or Creator</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/491" hreflang="en">Hydrogen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/252" hreflang="en">Wind power</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/596" hreflang="en">Solar power</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/394" hreflang="en">Marine energy</a></div> </div> </div> Mon, 18 Oct 2021 11:47:58 +0000 Stephen Richard 68 at https://indylibrary.scot Sorted. A handbook for a better Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/sorted-a-handbook-for-a-better-scotland-0 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Sorted. A handbook for a better Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Commonweal</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/20" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Vicky Fairley</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Thu, 30/03/2023 - 13:27</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">CommonPrint</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2022</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/143" hreflang="en">Independence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/campaigning" hreflang="en">Campaigning</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/community" hreflang="en">Community</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">book</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-length field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)</div> <div class="field__item">291pages</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=1086&amp;2=like_content" token="iOlSFW74hBGYQKAUCTQOMypXvkV8Rwts-6Ek3VEwPPM"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>'Sorted' is a vision for a shared future in an independent Scotland.  A future which puts all of us first. It looks at what's possible and describes how we can make independence and Scotland successful.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>'Sorted" imagines we are at the start of the first ten years of Scotland being an independent country. It describes what kind of society we can now build and explains the guiding principles of how to go about building it. Then it takes every part of life in Scotland and puts forward a case for change covering equality; democracy; public finance; tax and money; industry; living standards; resources; learning; care; health; recreation; justice; security; information; and the world.</p> <p>It explains how to build our industrial base, tackle poverty, combat the climate crisis, raise wages, improve our quality of life and stay safe in an uncertain world - and much more besides.</p> <p>It is based on a decade of work by Common Weal and organisations and authors close to it.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/shop/publications/sorted-a-handbook-for-a-better-scotland/" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/shop/publications/sorted-a-handbook-for-a-better-scotla…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/404" hreflang="en">Equality</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/516" hreflang="en">Democracy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/594" hreflang="en">Public finance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/922" hreflang="en">Income tax</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/495" hreflang="en">Money</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/280" hreflang="en">Industry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/204" hreflang="en">Energy resources</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/489" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/738" hreflang="en">Care services</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/216" hreflang="en">Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/546" hreflang="en">security</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/what-will-the-economic-policy-of-an-independent-scotland-be" hreflang="en">What will the economic policy of an independent Scotland be?</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/9" hreflang="en">Can Scotland have an independent banking system?</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/what-will-tax-be-like-in-an-independent-scotland" hreflang="en">What will tax be like in an independent Scotland?</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/how-will-communities-develop-in-scotland" hreflang="en">How will communities develop in Scotland?</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/what-will-human-rights-be-in-scotland" hreflang="en">What will human rights be in Scotland?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:27:22 +0000 Vicky Fairley 1086 at https://indylibrary.scot Three Reasons Westminster’s Energy Strategy Doesn’t Work for Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/three-reasons-westminsters-energy-strategy-doesnt-work-for-scotland <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Three Reasons Westminster’s Energy Strategy Doesn’t Work for Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Believe in Scotland</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 16/05/2022 - 20:38</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Believe in Scotland</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2022-04-11T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">11/04/22</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Article</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=663&amp;2=like_content" token="JC26ZiSp1S6SgCym9bTp4U2sbrrQUPj2ivZ3lRxCcmQ"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland urgently needs a transformation of the UK’s electricity transmission system which does not serve Scotland’s needs.  It also needs more investment in energy efficiency and demand reduction</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p><strong>"1 The UK’s privatised national grid system does not serve Scotland well.</strong></p> <p>National Grid Transco PLC owns and manages the grid infrastructure in England and Wales. It also <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Grid_plc">manages the transmission system</a> in Scotland – although the ownership lies with Scottish Power and SSE, a situation which appears to make investment in the Scottish grid less attractive. Scottish energy companies are charged ten times what English companies have to pay to connect to the grid.</p> <p><strong>2</strong><strong> The strategy pours billions into nuclear power – while making unrealistic claims about what that will achieve. </strong></p> <p>The money that is invested in nuclear will come from energy consumers. It is predicted that consumers across the UK including Scotland will have to shell out <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/oil-and-gas-firms-have-given-1m-to-boris-johnsons-conservatives/">£</a><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nuclear-power-uk-new-boris-johnson-b2051989.html">80 a year</a> through their bills for this. The strategy document says the UK has: “committed to provide up to £1.7 billion of direct government funding to enable one nuclear project to FID (final investment decision) this Parliament.” It proposes up to 8 new nuclear reactors –  which will cost a total of<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/28/boris-johnsons-energy-strategy-funding-row-with-rishi-sunak"> £13 billion</a>.</p> <p>Unlike renewables, the cost of nuclear power is rising. When completed, Hinkley Point C will be one of the <a href="https://power.nridigital.com/power_technology_nov18_special/the_most_expensive_nuclear_energy_projects_around_the_world">most expensive power station</a>s in the world. The fuel it generates will cost <a href="https://www.lowcarboncontracts.uk/cfds/hinkley-point-c">£90 per MWh</a>. The UK’s existing nuclear power costs <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19944410.nuclear-energy-chiefs-fire-cheaper-renewables-claims/">£45 per MWh</a>. </p> <p><strong>3 There is no well-funded commitment to improving energy efficiency and insulating homes in the strategy.</strong></p> <p>A large-scale energy efficiently drive would benefit consumers struggling with energy and cost of living crises. But instead of new measures, the strategy repackages existing schemes. It also relies on householders borrowing money to insulate their homes. </p> <p>The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/british-energy-security-strategy/british-energy-security-strategy">strategy</a> voices the UK Government’s faith in the free market."</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.believeinscotland.org/three-reasons-westminsters-energy-strategy-doesnt-work-for-scotland/" target="_blank">https://www.believeinscotland.org/three-reasons-westminsters-energy-strategy-do…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/195" hreflang="en">Energy policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 16 May 2022 19:38:41 +0000 Stephen Richard 663 at https://indylibrary.scot Pioneering North Sea renewables project unveiled at COP 26 https://indylibrary.scot/pioneering-north-sea-renewables-project-unveiled-at-cop-26 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pioneering North Sea renewables project unveiled at COP 26</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Believe in Scotland</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 15/11/2021 - 16:11</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Believe in Scotland</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2021</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/103" hreflang="en">Renewable energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Article</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=332&amp;2=like_content" token="X-8ak4mH8hKMXoNvwP9DehJCxJog_wPTLzZXn6oUs8A"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Offshore wind resources in the North Sea will create thousands of jobs and boost Scotland ‘s ambitions to be a world leader in renewable energy through a plan unveiled at COP 26 in Glasgow.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Offshore wind resources in the North Sea will create thousands of jobs and boost Scotland ‘s ambitions to be a world leader in renewable energy through a plan unveiled at COP 26 in Glasgow.</p> <p>The Northern Horizons Project will use floating offshore wind turbines to produce green hydrogen which could fuel vehicles or be used in fuel cells to generate electricity during times of the day when the wind resource is low.</p> <p>Norway’s Aker Offshore Wind, Aker Clean Hydrogen and DNV, consultants who are leading experts in the transition to a hydrogen-based economy, are behind the project, which they say is ‘’a technically and economically feasible plan’’.</p> <p>It is described as a ‘’response to the Scottish government’s stated ambition to develop Scotland’s potential to export significant quantities of hydrogen’’.</p> <p>The government is targeting 5GW of hydrogen production by 2030 and is actively looking for international collaboration in the development of a shared hydrogen economy.</p> <p>This project could start production from 2030 and will ‘’create thousands of jobs and the investment of billions of pounds during construction and operation’’.</p> <p>Sian Lloyd-Rees, managing director of Aker Offshore Wind UK, said<strong>:</strong> “This is a technically and economically feasible plan to deliver floating offshore wind at the scale needed to deliver clean energy products which can be used to help decarbonize fuel-heavy industries such as shipping and aviation.”I am proud that DNV has worked on this project that really does show a profitable business opportunity whilst contributing greatly to net zero targets</p> <p>Ditlev Engel, CEO of Energy Systems at DNV, said: “To meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, the world needs to transition faster to a deeply decarbonized energy system.</p> <p>“I am proud that DNV has worked on this project that really does show a profitable business opportunity creating economic growth and new job opportunities, whilst contributing greatly to the UK’s net zero targets.”</p> <p>The project will use floating offshore wind turbines to produce 10GW of energy to power multiple floating installations which will produce green hydrogen which will be transmitted to a net zero hydrogen refinery on Shetland.</p> <p> </p> <p>Some observers have said COP 26 has seen more announcements that expected on agreements to reduce carbon emissions. Pete Betts, the former EU lead negotiator on climate change, told the BBC: ‘’The mood of the conference is good. The trend towards a zero-carbon world is irreversible. The question is when we get there, and what the climate will be like by then.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Greta Thunberg: COP 26 ”greenwashing”</p> <p>Not everyone is as optimistic. Prominent climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg walked out of a panel discussion with former governor of the Bank of England and UN climate envoy Mark Carney shouting “this is greenwashing” .</p> <p>She has denounced the COP26 summit in Glasgow for being the ‘most excluding COP ever’ and called the international conference a ‘greenwash festival’.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.believeinscotland.org/pioneering-north-sea-renewables-project-unveiled-at-cop-26/" target="_blank">https://www.believeinscotland.org/pioneering-north-sea-renewables-project-unvei…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/602" hreflang="en">COP26</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:11:35 +0000 Stephen Richard 332 at https://indylibrary.scot Why the Oil Barons Can’t Survive a Green New Deal https://indylibrary.scot/why-the-oil-barons-cant-survive-a-green-new-deal <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Why the Oil Barons Can’t Survive a Green New Deal</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Craig Dalzell</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 15/11/2021 - 12:36</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2021-11-11T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">11/11/21</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/green-economy" hreflang="en">Green economy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Article</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=422&amp;2=like_content" token="GihpmMbbXRi3E15FsJJmWJ73xplN54EEKkif0Kv-WAs"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The alternatives to oil are already apparent. The transition to a green economy will remove the demand for almost all oil based products.</p> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Will oil and gas extraction still be a thing at all in a Green New Deal world? I think I’ve shown here that it needn’t be at all. But even in the much more limited “Net Zero” world, the oil barons lose a huge amount of their power and influence.</p> <p>There is precedence for that kind of economic phase-shift. The early 20th century saw the development of the automobile and signalled the end of the Age of the Horse. Untold numbers of people working in the “Horse Sector” from farriers to livery yards lost their jobs. In 1900, a <a href="https://www.driving.co.uk/news/interview/f1-electric-cars-meet-ian-foley-founder-equipmake/">photo was taken</a> of 5th Avenue in New York, USA. In the traffic there are multiple horse drawn carts and only one car. By 1913, the same street was photographed with multiple cars and only one horse drawn cart. The <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/archive/assets/pdfs/hsp/soaiv_07_ch10.pdf">US</a><a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/archive/assets/pdfs/hsp/soaiv_07_ch10.pdf">A</a><a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/archive/assets/pdfs/hsp/soaiv_07_ch10.pdf">’s horse population peaked in 1915</a> and has declined by about <a href="https://www.ridingmagazine.com/index.php/articles/current-issue/2418-august-2020-how-many-horses">85%</a> in the time since – coincidently roughly the same amount that the oil industry could decline even if all we do is eliminate it as a fuel. Horses still exist, but the industry is now very different from the one that dominated overland transport for millennia before that peak.</p> <p>So to those who still want to get their hands on “Scotland’s Oil” I want to ask: What does the Scottish oil and gas sector actually look like if we shift the world such that the vast majority of its customers no longer exist? Will the North Sea be economically viable even in the most limited sense if that happens? If we try to keep it pumping, will we lose our economic edge to those countries – like Sweden – who are pushing oil out of even the most intensive “other” uses of oil? The oil barons of the 20th century are on the edge of going the way of the horse barons of the 19th. The choice for Scotland is whether we let them go…or we let them pull us over with them?</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/oil-barons-cant-survive/" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/oil-barons-cant-survive/</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/435" hreflang="en">Oil</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/704" hreflang="en">Green Economy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/502" hreflang="en">Green new deal</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 15 Nov 2021 12:36:29 +0000 Stephen Richard 422 at https://indylibrary.scot How Scottish independence could re-ignite the north-east energy sector. Open minds on independence #17 https://indylibrary.scot/how-scottish-independence-could-re-ignite-the-north-east-energy-sector-open-minds-on-independence <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">How Scottish independence could re-ignite the north-east energy sector. Open minds on independence #17</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Believe in Scotland</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Sun, 10/10/2021 - 11:06</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">The National</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2021-04-10T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">10/04/21</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">News Media</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=316&amp;2=like_content" token="I6Iidc7gDM6Pophm9sspQjG4eWw7JEK8JkYVlV6XTmw"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>With independence, Scotland could manage a just transition from economic dependence on fossil fuels. And take our rightful place at the heart of developing renewables to power the world.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland is certainly well-placed to thrive in the renewables sector, but renewables need time to develop in order to ensure that the transition to a low-carbon economy does not adversely affect the poorest in society, who are most sensitive to rising energy prices. There are three reasons for this:</p> <p><strong>- Environmental:</strong> we now have proof that climate catastrophe will lead to the eventual destruction of the modern economic system. How countries choose to manage this will be critical, particularly those with abundant natural resources such as Scotland.</p> <p><strong>- Economic:</strong> the UK currently makes little revenue from oil and gas. One of the reasons for this is that Westminster cut petroleum revenue tax to 0% in 2015. This has not to benefit the industry in the way that was promised. For instance, between 2015-2018, the UK government only gained £3.3bn from oil and gas, 95% less than Norway.</p> <p><strong>- Political:</strong> <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/brexit/">Brexit</a> is causing massive damages to our economy. It proves that Scotland and the UK have fundamental differences and it seems inevitable that they will move towards different paths.</p> <p>With independence, Scotland could properly manage a just-transition from economic dependence on fossil fuels to take our rightful place at the heart of moves to develop renewables to power the world, rather than destroy it.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/19223626.scottish-independence-re-ignite-north-east-energy-sector/" target="_blank">https://www.thenational.scot/news/19223626.scottish-independence-re-ignite-nort…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/195" hreflang="en">Energy policy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Sun, 10 Oct 2021 10:06:11 +0000 Stephen Richard 316 at https://indylibrary.scot The key to powering an independent Scotland’s future. Open minds on indepencence #16 https://indylibrary.scot/the-key-to-powering-an-independent-scotlands-future-open-minds-on-indepencence-16 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The key to powering an independent Scotland’s future. Open minds on indepencence #16</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Believe in Scotland</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Sun, 10/10/2021 - 10:59</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">The National</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2012-04-06T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">06/04/12</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/103" hreflang="en">Renewable energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">News Media</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=406&amp;2=like_content" token="08DvxqnZZxVVuFO4PX5W7lMYA9G_LSlfnYlt1AKEtrw"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Renewable energy holds the key to powering Scotland’s future. The country is so richly blessed with prized natural resources. It is well-placed to become a key player in the sector.  The renewables industry currently contributes £6.4bn to Scotland’s <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/scottish-economy/">economy</a> and employs more than 23,000 people. </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>There are some amazing statistics that show the extent of Scotland’s natural wealth in renewables:</p> <ul><li>Our total exports of energy to the rest of the UK are worth around £5.1 billion per annum, of which £2.8bn is nominally low-carbon/renewable energy.</li> <li>The renewables industry currently contributes £6.4bn to Scotland’s <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/scottish-economy/">economy</a> and employs more than 23,000 people in Scotland. The industry is predicted to expand exponentially in the next few years.</li> <li>Onshore wind in Scotland supports almost 2300 jobs directly (43% of the UK total) and is responsible for 51% of the UK’s turnover in onshore wind activities.</li> <li>The number of employees in Scotland’s offshore wind sector grew by 171% between 2014-2017.</li> <li>With less than 1% of the population of <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/europe">Europe</a>, Scotland has 25% of Europe’s entire offshore wind power resources, 25% of Europe’s tidal energy resources and 10% of wave energy potential.</li> <li>In 2018, Scotland accounted for 24% of the UK’s renewable energy.</li> </ul><p>The renewables industry offers Scotland huge potential for growth. In the race to replace traditional ways of generating energy with alternatives involving natural processes, wind, wave, tidal, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric energy have become the key environmentally friendly energy sources of the future. Biomass energy is also classified as renewable.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/19214026.key-powering-independent-scotlands-future/" target="_blank">https://www.thenational.scot/news/19214026.key-powering-independent-scotlands-f…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/683" hreflang="en">Electricity</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Sun, 10 Oct 2021 09:59:06 +0000 Stephen Richard 406 at https://indylibrary.scot Energy-food nexus in the marine environment: A macroeconomic analysis on offshore wind energy and seafood production in Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/energy-food-nexus-in-the-marine-environment-a-macroeconomic-analysis-on-offshore-wind-energy-and <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Energy-food nexus in the marine environment: A macroeconomic analysis on offshore wind energy and seafood production in Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Yang Qu</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 27/09/2021 - 11:56</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Tara Hoopera, J. Kim Swales, Eleni Papathanasopoulou, Melanie C. Austen, Xiaoyu Yan</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">February 2021</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/food-production" hreflang="en">Food production</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Academic Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=112&amp;2=like_content" token="zpWWYv39qg2dKeRSF7a6RP6YOWq0nzVvrKzDmFDno90"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><ul><li>Low-cost offshore wind farms (OWFs) would increase both energy security and GDP.</li> <li>Subsidising the high-cost OWFs would benefit energy security but not the economy.</li> <li>Limited negative impacts on seafood sectors by the OWF expansion were identified .</li> </ul><dl></dl></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The rapid development of offshore wind farms (OWFs) has stimulated debate about its overall socioeconomic impacts. Expanding the scale of OWFs increases the availability and affordability of electricity but could displace existing fishing activities and reduce food supply. To evaluate these impacts from a macroeconomic perspective, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is developed, using Scotland as a case study.</p> <p>A particular focus is placed on the disaggregated electricity and seafood sectors, their interconnectedness from an energy-food nexus perspective, and the distributional effects across household groups. This paper explores, from macroeconomic perspective, the trade-offs in the energy-food nexus between expanding OWFs and the seafood sectors, together with the impacts on food and energy security. The results suggest that, through economic linkages, increasing the number of OWFs would have a negative, but limited, effect on seafood production sectors.</p> <p>However, the falling cost of electricity from OWFs would have a positive impact on the economy overall and benefit lower income households, contributing to a reduction in fuel poverty. The model results raise the awareness of nexus linkages between OWFs and seafood production and are applicable to policies involving the development of other offshore renewables.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03014215">Energy Policy</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03014215/149/supp/C">Volume 149</a>, February 2021, 112027  Paywall</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421520307382" target="_blank">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421520307382</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/575" hreflang="en">Offshore wind</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/646" hreflang="en">Food production</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:56:26 +0000 Stephen Richard 112 at https://indylibrary.scot Life cycle assessment of the carbon intensity of deep geothermal heat systems: A case study from Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/life-cycle-assessment-of-the-carbon-intensity-of-deep-geothermal-heat-systems-a-case-study-from <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Life cycle assessment of the carbon intensity of deep geothermal heat systems: A case study from Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Alistair T.McCay</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 27/09/2021 - 11:47</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Michael E.J.Feliks, Jennifer J.Roberts</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2019-05-22T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">22/05/19</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Academic Paper</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-length field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)</div> <div class="field__item">12pp</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=321&amp;2=like_content" token="eE1qr3eGo38SOXkwAks2Ex_gEJyCQvHEX8B1XRPabRA"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>We calculate that the carbon intensity of the heat produced 4.9–7.3% of the emissions from heat from natural gas. These values are compatible with Scotland's plans for long term decarbonisation.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Deep <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/geothermal-energy">geothermal energy</a> is widely recognised as a source of low carbon heat. However, to date there have been no specific assessment of the carbon intensity of low-enthalpy deep geothermal; previous studies focussed on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/geothermal-power">geothermal power</a> or higher enthalpy heat. As such, there is no established method for assessing the CO2 emissions from implementing a deep geothermal heating scheme. Here we address these gaps. We perform a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/life-cycle-assessment">life cycle assessment</a> of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/greenhouse-gas-emission">greenhouse gas emissions</a> relating to a deep geothermal heat system to (i) calculate the carbon intensity of geothermal heat; (ii) identify key factors affecting these values; (iii) consider the carbon abated if geothermal heat substitutes conventional heating; and (iv) present information that future projects can apply to assess the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/carbon-dioxide-emission">carbon emissions</a> reduction offered by geothermal heat development. Our work is informed by parameters from a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/feasibility-study">feasibility study</a> for a proposed geothermal heat system in Banchory, Scotland. The project planned a 2.5 MWth geothermal plant extracting heat from the Hill of Fare <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/granite">granite</a> via two <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/boreholes">boreholes</a>, one injection and one production. We find that the majority of the emissions are associated with site construction, and sensitive to site and materials specific factors, for example the depth of the drilled boreholes and type and quantities of steel and cement used to seal them, or soils disturbed for laying pipelines and constructing access roads. During operation the carbon intensity of the electricity grid used to power hydraulic pumps largely determines the carbon intensity of the produced heat. We calculate that the carbon intensity of the heat produced is 9.7–14.0 kg(CO2e) MWhth which is 4.9–7.3% of the emissions from heat from natural gas. These values are compatible with Scotland's plans for long term decarbonisation of heat in line with national emission reduction obligations and would likely be compatible with any country's decarbonisation goals.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697">Science of The Total Environment</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697/685/supp/C">Volume 685</a>, 1 October 2019, Pages 208-219.  Paywall</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719323587" target="_blank">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719323587</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/283" hreflang="en">Geothermal energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/389" hreflang="en">CO2</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:47:58 +0000 Stephen Richard 321 at https://indylibrary.scot Low-carbon GeoEnergy resource options in the Midland Valley of Scotland, UK https://indylibrary.scot/low-carbon-geoenergy-resource-options-in-the-midland-valley-of-scotland-uk <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Low-carbon GeoEnergy resource options in the Midland Valley of Scotland, UK</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">N. Heinemann</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 27/09/2021 - 11:38</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Alcalde, G. Johnson, J. J. Roberts, A. T. McCay, M. G. Booth</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2019-11-04T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">04/11/19</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Academic Paper</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-length field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)</div> <div class="field__item">14pp</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=340&amp;2=like_content" token="NSeb3lzQi_1E76aPX2Wamla1Znghxr9PXKAtGIztHSU"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The study suggests that the Midland Valley [of Scotland] represents a viable option in Scotland for the exploitation of the majority of low-carbon GeoEnergy resources.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland is committed to be a carbon-neutral society by 2040 and has achieved the important initial step of decarbonizing power production. However, more ambitious measures are required to fully decarbonize all of the electricity, transport and heating sectors.</p> <p>We explore the potential to use low-carbon GeoEnergy resources and bioenergy combined with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) in the Midland Valley area to decarbonize the Scottish economy and society. The Midland Valley has a long history of geological resource extraction and, as a result, the geology of the region is well characterized.</p> <p>Geothermal energy and subsurface energy storage have the potential to be implemented. Some of them, such as gravity and heat storage, could re-use the redundant mining infrastructure to decrease investment costs. Hydrogen storage could be of particular interest as the Midland Valley offers the required caprock–reservoir assemblages. BECCS is also a promising option to reduce overall CO2 emissions by between 1.10 and 4.40 MtCO2 a−1. The Midland Valley has enough space to grow the necessary crops, but CO2 storage will most likely be implemented in North Sea saline aquifers. The studied aspects suggest that the Midland Valley represents a viable option in Scotland for the exploitation of the majority of low-carbon GeoEnergy resources.</p> <p>Scottish Journal of Geology, 55, 93-106, 4 November 2019   </p> <p>Paywall present.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1144/sjg2019-007" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1144/sjg2019-007</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/283" hreflang="en">Geothermal energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/607" hreflang="en">Carbon capture</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:38:29 +0000 Stephen Richard 340 at https://indylibrary.scot Watershed: the Turning Point for North Sea Oil and the Just Transition https://indylibrary.scot/watershed-the-turning-point-for-north-sea-oil-and-the-just-transition <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Watershed: the Turning Point for North Sea Oil and the Just Transition</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Rachel Tansey</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Thu, 16/09/2021 - 14:48</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Friends of the Earth, Oil Change International</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">September 2021</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/climate-change" hreflang="en">Climate change</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Assessment report</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=429&amp;2=like_content" token="JB7cQfrSaDAIiTDvRqcX7Z6_M044x7AJoBiMgdwcXYI"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>No new oil and gas fields can be approved for development.  Given the right policies, a just transition can generate more than three jobs in clean industries for every North Sea oil job at risk</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The First Minister claims that early closure of North Sea production would lead to increased imports of more carbon intensive fossil fuels, but this ‘carbon leakage’ argument does not hold water. To begin with, justice and equity require that wealthier countries with higher capacity to support the transition and lower dependence on fossil fuel production – like the UK – phase it out more rapidly.</p> <p>Additionally, support for the fossil fuel industry – including for CCS – comes at the expense of renewable energy, effectively slowing down the shift to meeting Scotland’s demand with renewable sources. This argument also ignores efforts to reduce demand and increase energy efficiency, and forgets the abysmal record of UK North Sea oil companies at tackling preventable emissions.</p> <p>Finally, investment in fossil fuel infrastructure now locks us into oil and gas for decades, pushing the UK closer to a ‘deferred collapse’, whereby delayed action and worsening climate impacts forces a sudden and chaotic shutdown, pushing many workers out of work in a short space of time.</p> <p>To keep within 1.5ºC, in line with equity and climate justice, Scotland needs a just phase-out policy for oil and gas extraction, based on a managed winding down of production in this decade, shaped by affected workers and communities to ensure a just transition, and leaving some of the 6.55 billion barrels in the ground. Given the right policies, a just transition can generate more than three jobs in clean industries for every North Sea oil job at risk. The barriers are not technical, they’re political.</p> <p>A rational, precautionary and cost-effective approach requires the Scottish Government to end its support for MER, and urge the UK Government to do the same, while redirecting financial support from fossil fuels and CCS to a just transition to a fully renewable Scotland.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Watershed-Report_final_web.pdf" target="_blank">https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Watershed-Report_final…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/485" hreflang="en">North Sea Oil</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/378" hreflang="en">Cambo oil field</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/386" hreflang="en">Climate Emergency</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/316" hreflang="en">Economic recovery</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/657" hreflang="en">Economy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:48:47 +0000 Stephen Richard 429 at https://indylibrary.scot Get the future of energy right https://indylibrary.scot/get-the-future-of-energy-right <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Get the future of energy right</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 14/09/2021 - 09:42</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2020</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Video</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-length field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)</div> <div class="field__item">1:35 minutes</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=383&amp;2=like_content" token="vKUfVYaxXDWTi8TYSmGVMfPfOaWvAZwcIiU7Fy0GmVo"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Energy – electricity, heating and transport fuel – is crucial for the modern Scotland we live in. But it can also be one of our biggest threats if we don’t get them right. It can harm our environment and play a major role in causing the climate crisis.  ‘Energy inequality’ can harm the health of those who can’t afford to heat their homes. Scotland is one of the few countries in Europe which does not own its energy publicly and the only one that doesn’t  own its own National Grid. </p> <p>Video 1:35 minutes</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Energy – electricity, heating and transport fuel – is crucial for the modern Scotland we live in. But it can also be one of our biggest threats if we don’t get them right. It can harm our environment and play a major role in causing the climate crisis.  ‘Energy inequality’ can harm the health of those who can’t afford to heat their homes. Scotland is one of the few countries in Europe which does not own its energy publicly and the only one that doesn’t  own its own National Grid. </p> <p>Common Weal has published too much work on energy to link to all of it here (three key documents are <a href="https://commonweal.scot/policies/powering-our-ambitions/">Powering Our Ambitions</a>, <a href="https://commonweal.scot/policies/just-warmth/">Just Warmth</a> and <a href="https://commonweal.scot/policies/carbon-free-poverty-free/">Carbon-Free, Poverty-Free</a>). But most of it is summarised in the <a href="https://commonweal.scot/policies/the-common-home-plan/">Common Home Plan </a>with sections on energy efficiency, electricity, heating and transport</p> <p>So what is the vision? Scotland is blessed with remarkable renewable energy resources but has cold winters, a lot of inefficient housing, a very high reliance on gas heating and a particular reliance on transport. We need to tackle all of these. The hardest is heating – there is simply no easy solution to weaning ourselves off natural gas. Alternatives which use the same infrastructure (like hydrogen) are very expensive and alternatives like electric heating (also comparatively expensive) would require enormous amounts of work to replace existing household heating systems and would require a very big investment in both more electricity generation and the electricity grid. There is no quick, easy way to do this and retrofitting renewable heating (like Heat Pumps) to most existing houses isn’t realistic. So if we’re going to have to make a massive investment, let’s get it right.</p> <p>The first step is that we must make our houses much more efficient so we don’t need to heat them so much in the first place, so a major programme of insulating and draft-proofing houses is the first step. Then we need to put in place a heating system which will last for many generations, is clean and efficient and inexpensive for households. The best option is a ‘district heating’ system, where heat is generated in lots of different ways (all renewable), collected in a heat store and then distributed to houses as they need it via a network of pipes. Households just need to switch their existing boilers for heat exchangers and the rest of their heating system should work as is. Make no mistake, this is a truly immense engineering project, but so is anything that heats our homes without feeding a climate emergency.</p> <p>Electricity is more straightforward in Scotland because of our renewable resources – but we’re going to need more of it. To meet future demand and produce enough spare energy to ensure energy security we will need to double the amount of currently-installed renewable generation and put a lot of energy storage in place. But that’s not enough because if we also want to move to clean transport we’ll need more electricity again – in total about three times what we currently have. Thankfully this can all be achieved with onshore and offshore wind in Scotland, leaving our marine energy resources for other purposes. And if we do it right we can take not only all this new energy into public ownership but the existing energy as well – so we control our own energy system.</p> <p>Which leaves transport. This too is a massive task – we need to replace the entire fleet of petroleum-based transport. It is almost certain the way to do this is to move to electric battery-power for smaller vehicles like cars and vans and to hydrogen for big vehicles like lorries and ferries. But to achieve that we’ll also need all that extra electricity, a source of clean hydrogen and major investment in charging and refuelling infrastructure.</p> <p>So where do we get our clean hydrogen from? This is where Scotland’s marine energy comes in. At the moment almost all commercial hydrogen produces carbon dioxide, not when it is used but when it is created in the first place by breaking down natural gas. Clean hydrogen is made with electricity and water – but it needs a lot of electricity. Thankfully Scotland has massive wave and tidal energy opportunities and these can be used to make hydrogen for vehicle transport. Even more than that, it can give Scotland a world lead in hydrogen technology and because we have much more marine energy than we need for domestic transport it is also potentially an amazing export opportunity.</p> <p><br /> There is no simple solution to our need to clean up our energy, but great opportunities if we do. All that investment creates lots and lots of jobs and economic opportunities in supply chains – but only if we do it right. That’s why we need a proper structure for doing all of this collectively, from the public purse and in the public interest. A National Housing Company can plan and deliver home insulation, a Scottish Energy Development Agency can plan and manage this entire transition and a Scottish National Energy Company can deliver the work and then own our energy system on the public’s behalf.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/big-ideas/get-the-future-of-energy-right/" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/big-ideas/get-the-future-of-energy-right/</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/664" hreflang="en">Housing quality</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">Building insulation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/491" hreflang="en">Hydrogen</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:42:06 +0000 Stephen Richard 383 at https://indylibrary.scot The Economics of Shale Gas Extraction https://indylibrary.scot/the-economics-of-shale-gas-extraction <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Economics of Shale Gas Extraction</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Craig Dalzell</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 14/09/2021 - 09:15</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">April 2016</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Assessment report</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=329&amp;2=like_content" token="_rP35IKCEypNbafZEbwxLtfTigiOb-sdf-3BSc7OgrM"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Wells become non-productive within a few years, requiring ever more to be drilled. Profit margins are small so require high oil and gas prices. Community stress and negative economic effects are likely. The jobs created are short-lived and highly mobile.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The potential environmental impacts of shale oil and gas extraction (SGE) by means of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) have been well explored by various groups concerned by this newly prominent technology but rather less well known by campaigners and activists are the economic impacts.</p> <p>This report looks at key questions regarding the economic structure and impact of the SGE industry and the findings are detailed.</p> <p>― The SGE market in the US and, so far, in the UK is dominated by larger companies occupying the most profitable licences. There is little scope for community owned or small company development to occupy a significant market share.</p> <p>― Individual wells become largely non-productive within a few years of development which, due to market demand for constant production, forces companies to continue drilling new wells in new locations at a rapid pace.</p> <p>― The low recoverable volumes and high capital and running costs of wells may render profit margins comparatively small and extremely sensitive to oil and gas pricing. There appears to be little scope for economic development of SGE in the UK until and unless wholesale prices return to historic highs and even then significant subsidy may be required.</p> <p>― Communities are likely to be significantly adversely impacted by nearby SGE fields. The concentrated pattern of land ownership and comparatively weak situation of local government renders communities vulnerable to being unable to capture wealth generated by nearby wells whereas the burden of environmental degradation or even simply the threat of such degradation can lead to community stress and negative economic effects.</p> <p>― The jobs created by SGE appear to be short-lived and highly mobile. The job demographic of the planning, drilling and production phases are each relatively exclusive meaning that they will move to the next site more rapidly than the wells themselves do. This creates the risk of a “Boom-Bust” effect in communities.</p> <p>― Shale oil and gas is considered a relatively poor source of fuel due to high extraction costs. The UK’s reserves are also likely to have an insignificant impact on global markets and hence a negligible impact on end-user prices.</p> <p>― Significant externalities have been identified in the form of environmental degradation due to methane leaks. The costs to mitigate these may exceed the lifetime revenues generated by the well which produced them. Further, the UK has a poor record in terms of ensuring adequate decommissioning and restoration bonds which may lead to further public funding being required after the SGE companies have left an area.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/The-Economics-of-Shale-Gas-Extraction.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/The-Economics-of-Shale-Gas-E…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/695" hreflang="en">Shale</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/511" hreflang="en">Fracking</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/371" hreflang="en">Environmental impact</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/697" hreflang="en">Methane</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:15:44 +0000 Stephen Richard 329 at https://indylibrary.scot Incentives and Opportunities Signalled by Transmission Charges in Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/incentives-and-opportunities-signalled-by-transmission-charges-in-scotland <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Incentives and Opportunities Signalled by Transmission Charges in Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Iain Wright</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 07/09/2021 - 08:46</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2018-08-03T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">03/08/18</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=310&amp;2=like_content" token="TXqfI_XXQ7_fr9GOSEuls7FemUzARZn8oHmIYTd8HkE"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland is not well served by the UK’s National Grid and the current system restricts the development of Scotland’s renewable energy potential and leads to high charges for Scottish consumers.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― The UK’s National Grid has been designed for an era where the fuel for power plants (chiefly coal and gas) could be transported more efficiently than the generated electricity. This has lead to a system of charging where power stations are incentivised to build close to major population centres such as the South East of England. In numerical terms, energy providers are charged a tariff of around £24/kW to connect a wind generator to the National Grid if the generator is installed in the North of Scotland. However, if the same generator is installed in West Devon and Cornwall, the provider would receive a subsidy of £4.79/kW.</p> <p>― As renewable generators such as wind turbines must be built where the wind is at its highest power density and as their “fuel” cannot be moved in the way that coal and gas can, the current grid charging system makes no sense for the purposes of encouraging the development of Scotland’s renewable energy potential.</p> <p>― The grid’s charging system takes no notice of the location of the end-users of the generated power. An energy customer in Scotland must pay the same price for power regardless of whether or not the power they are using is being generated elsewhere in the UK or by a wind turbine nearby.</p> <p>―High energy intensity users such as aluminium smelters, chemical manufacturers and data centres have little incentive to build renewable generators on-site in order to reduce their energy costs.</p> <p>― The paper therefore makes the case that the UK’s energy grid is reformed so that it better reflects the energy technology and economic needs of the 21st century. Tariffs should be re-calculated to better encourage the placement of renewable generators in areas where they can operate most efficiently and incentives should be developed to allow industries and communities to benefit from the renewable generators build either by them or on their doorsteps.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Transmission-Charges.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Transmission-Charges.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/692" hreflang="en">National Grid</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/252" hreflang="en">Wind power</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 07 Sep 2021 07:46:17 +0000 Stephen Richard 310 at https://indylibrary.scot Public Energy Company https://indylibrary.scot/public-energy-company <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Public Energy Company</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Keith Baker</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 07/09/2021 - 08:40</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Gordon Morgan, Ron Mould, Geoff Wood, Iain Wright, Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2018-08-10T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">10/08/18</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">consultation response</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=281&amp;2=like_content" token="0pzopq4ZlfxdDCqnDpJxjtMMtlU92ul9nauYZpmcL0o"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>A publicly owned energy company to generate and deliver energy to the people of Scotland is necessary.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Our response states that a publicly owned energy company must be founded on four core principles:</p> <p>1) It must have the ability and mandate to create new infrastructure platforms.</p> <p>2) It must accelerate wider energy system reform.</p> <p>3) It must increase public engagement and participation in the energy market.</p> <p>4) It must reduce costs to consumers.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Public-Energy-Company.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Public-Energy-Company.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/210" hreflang="en">Public energy companies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/224" hreflang="en">Energy generation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/619" hreflang="en">Community energy generation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/202" hreflang="en">Energy market</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 07 Sep 2021 07:40:43 +0000 Stephen Richard 281 at https://indylibrary.scot Energy Strategy Consultation https://indylibrary.scot/energy-strategy-consultation <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Energy Strategy Consultation</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Susan Brush</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 01/09/2021 - 14:11</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Iain Wright, Gordon Morgan, Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2017</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">consultation response</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=358&amp;2=like_content" token="6UC5O6hjIM5DsFrtCUWNTS8zxiLD8OQ4oOg-Bsh8LgI"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>This paper</p> <p>― Urges the Scottish Government to add a “just and fair transition” of jobs to the low carbon economy. </p> <p>― Has concerns about continued use of fossil fuels and carbon capture.</p> <p>― Strongly supports exploration of alternative energy carriers, such as hydrogen.</p> <p>― Supports the priority of increasing renewable generation.</p> <p>― Views that increasing the flexibility, efficiency and resilience of a future energy system as fundamentally essential to underpin a future energy system </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Common Weal warmly welcomes publication of this draft energy strategy and its “Whole System View” that includes both short and longer term targets and visions.</p> <p>We also welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to honouring climate change targets, showing Scotland is indeed playing a leading and responsible role in the world.</p> <p>We welcome the quality of public discussion generated by the consultation and we are pleased to take the opportunity to respond to it.</p> <p>Common Weal fully supports the principles set out in this strategy and agrees with the policy objectives it contains. However we would like to see the intended “Whole System View” adopt a greater degree of integration between energy and industrial development, for example, the creation of demand by energy-intensive users closer to production in northern Scotland. Finding ways to achieve this would reduce the need for the further investment in costly transmission infrastructure that will further drive up the cost of grid connections.</p> <p>Transformation of the energy system is essential if Scotland is to meet its environmental objectives, so this draft energy strategy is to be commended in addressing the need to look beyond renewable electricity production and towards decarbonisation of transport and heating. In adopting an all-energy approach to strategy development, we believe the Scottish Government is following a path that is most likely to deliver the desired outcomes.  In particular, we support an approach that avoids mandating a particular technology mix for energy production, as the strategy has a significant dependency on solutions that are not yet proven at scale. However this was also true of wind generation 15 or 20 years ago and there is no reason to suppose that new energy technologies will not similarly benefit from a supportive energy policy environment.</p> <p>Common Weal is concerned that the UK Government has placed obstacles in the path of the Scottish Government achieving its carbon free objectives. These range from:</p> <p>• The privatisation of the energy market in the 1980s which resulted for a long time in a lack of investment in grid infrastructure; • The fact that Energy Policy is a reserved power under the devolution settlement; • The short-sighted changes in energy policy and subsidies;</p> <p>• The ban on on-shore wind development in England;</p> <p>• The decision to proceed with the ludicrously expensive Hinkley Point C and other nuclear reactors;</p> <p>• The lack of flexibility in the charging regime for grid connections which inhibit new Scottish generation in favour of the South of England.</p> <p>Common Weal believes that these and more of the potential conflicts with the UK Government should be delineated in the strategy so as to make the case for full devolution of energy policy and or Scottish Independence. Indeed we have concerns that unless this is addressed, the ambitious goals set out cannot be achieved.</p> <p>Nevertheless, Common Weal welcomes the priorities set out in the paper in particular the desire to transform the energy system to one based on carbon free energy and to encourage research and deployment of new sources of energy.</p> <p>We strongly support the establishment of a Scottish Energy Company which can support local energy cooperatives and smaller public energy companies and provide a level playing field for energy pricing and investment. This should be backed by Energy Bonds and a public investment bank. Indeed if the model for the public energy company was the Danish Energy Agency, which administers energy and supply in Denmark, many of the problems associated with a privatised energy market could be addressed.</p> <p>Energy is essential for social existence and Scotland is fortunate to have abundant natural resources of wind, wave, tidal, solar, hydro and geothermal to produce this carbon free energy. The challenge is to make it available to all whilst ensuring jobs, social inclusion and democratic control.</p> <p>Q1 What are your views on the priorities presented in this chapter for energy supply over the coming decades? In answering, please consider whether the priorities are the right ones for delivering our vision. Common Weal wishes to make the following points as regards the priorities listed before addressing other priorities of a more general nature.</p> <p>Common Weal:</p> <p>• Recognises the huge economic contribution North Sea Oil and Gas have made to the Scottish economy;</p> <p>• Urges the Scottish Government to add a “just and fair transition” of jobs to the low carbon economy as a priority, and to seek alternative sectors using the skills base and domestic supply chains we have. Alternative sectors are likely to include offshore renewable generation and on-land infrastructure (e.g. district heating, for which we currently import the pipework) as well as decommissioning mature oil wells;</p> <p>• Has concerns regards the primacy given to the development and commercialisation of CCS, and has questions regards its technical feasibility and cost effectiveness and the implication that fossil fuel plants could be retained longer than necessary. Nevertheless we welcome the EU funding of the Acorn project to test the feasibility of CCS at Peterhead; </p> <p>• Support, in principle, exploration of new non-fossil fuel energy sources, provided they come with safeguards of environmental protection, take cognisance of public opinion, especially of communities affected (both local and communities of interest), and a fair settlement is agreed with local communities.</p> <p>• Has a specific concern about unconventional oil and gas which includes not only environmental matters and strong public opposition, but the licensing arrangements: that licenses are currently sold by Crown Estates, with no input at a local or Scottish level other than within the Planning process.</p> <p>• Strongly supports exploration of alternative energy carriers, such as hydrogen;</p> <p>• Supports the priority of increasing renewable generation; • Views that the fifth priority, “increasing the flexibility, efficiency and resilience of a future energy system”, as fundamentally essential to underpin whatever future energy system we will have. This matter is complex and merits far greater discussion and we have addressed it at greater length below;</p> <p>• Sees Scotland as a potential net energy exporter, but would prioritise meeting Scotland’s own energy and economic needs over large-scale exports. Common Weal wishes to make the following observations about more general priorities.</p> <p>Integration of Industrial Strategy</p> <p>The consultation recognises the importance of ensuring security of supply and this would be our overriding priority in the process of delivering the level of transformational change to Scotland’s energy system that this consultation envisages. However, we believe that the value of such an ambitious strategy would be enhanced by a greater emphasis on how a comprehensive energy policy can be used to support wider economic objectives.</p> <p>Common Weal’s vision for future would include locating energy-intensive industries that can utilise energy with variable output, close to generation sites; allowing supply by direct line from the generator, avoiding the need for a gridconnection, or for a carrier fuel.</p> <p>So we believe that exploitation of energy resources, of all kinds, should be managed in the context of an industrial policy that seeks to develop energy-intensive industries, such as ammonia/hydrogen production, in a way that avoids incurring Transmission Charges wherever possible. Currently these frequently make the difference between a proposed scheme being viable and not.</p> <p>This industrialisation strategy is one that has been pursued by Iceland; developing aluminium production and renewable energy resources in tandem. While there are significant differences between a dispatchable, geothermal/hydro-based system and the variable output/distributed generation system in Scotland/GB, the overarching principal of exploiting resource availability to leverage economic development should be the same. Whilst heat generation and storage can take up some of load as per Iceland, the only differences being the likely need for a carrier fuel/ substantive storage in Scotland, to redistribute energy over time.</p> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Energy-Strategy-Consultation-Common-Weal-submission.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Energy-Strategy-Consultation…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/485" hreflang="en">North Sea Oil</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/579" hreflang="en">Low carbon economy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/607" hreflang="en">Carbon capture</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/491" hreflang="en">Hydrogen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:11:24 +0000 Stephen Richard 358 at https://indylibrary.scot Renewables Scotland 2030: A discussion paper on how to transform Scotland’s energy sector by 2030 https://indylibrary.scot/renewables-scotland-2030-a-discussion-paper-on-how-to-transform-scotlands-energy-sector-by-2030 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Renewables Scotland 2030: A discussion paper on how to transform Scotland’s energy sector by 2030</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Craig Berry</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 01/09/2021 - 13:33</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">February 2018</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=109&amp;2=like_content" token="0IZpUhXRiRZWm67Bggzzw0o_Xao4gVA2jSb2cnscUSs"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland needs an energy infrastructure to adequately exploit renewable sources at a level to meet the variety of demands likely to be demanded.  To do this it needs an energy agency at government level,.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― UK energy policy since 1980 has failed Scotland. It has led to the six largest energy companies seeing profit margins rise 4.48% since 2016, with 34.9% of households in Scotland currently facing fuel poverty.</p> <p>― The Scottish Government should invest in energy infrastructure and electric vehicles to meet 75% of overall energy demand by 2030.</p> <p>Energy Infrastructure</p> <p>― Scotland has only captured 0.06% of marine energy potential. The Scottish Government should boost R&amp;D in wave and tidal technology, with an aim to capture 25% of marine energy resource by 2030.</p> <p>― Scotland is on track to meet 100% of electricity demand by 2020. The Scottish Government should look to invest in grid modernisation and energy storage to increase efficiency and decrease costs to consumers.</p> <p>― The Scottish Government should create a not-for-profit energy company with municipal control, led by a Scottish Energy Agency.</p> <p>― The Scottish Energy Agency should work with the NorthConnect project to provide Scotland with a route to export its additional renewable resource to mainland Europe.</p> <p>― Create a National Battery Technology Innovation Centre to drive investment in new innovative battery technology, working with universities.</p> <p>Electric Vehicles</p> <p>― Low Emission Zones should create a strategy to slowly increase the level of emissions banned as we move towards a full ban of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.</p> <p>― Create an electric vehicle strategy which increases focus on access to electric vehicles, with an aim to have electric vehicles meet 50% of the car market share.</p> <p>― Increasing electric vehicle energy use would see an average energy demand increase by 3.82GW.</p> <p>― Invest £82m in additional funding to build up Scotland’s charging infrastructure, with an aim to see five charging stations for every 1,000 electric vehicle drivers.</p> <p>Autonomous Distribution</p> <p>― Autonomous vehicles require testing trails in Scotland to have a greater understanding of the market. £19m would be required for testing cars in rural and urban areas, but tests would also be required for shipping and platooning.</p> <p>― Agricultural technology requires £20m in R&amp;D investment to boost the technology with an aim to implement autonomous testing.</p> <p>― To meet the legal and ethical guidelines for autonomous vehicles a Connected Autonomous Vehicle Centre is required.</p> <p>Renewable Shipping</p> <p>― 15 of the 33 ferries in the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet have an operational profile that makes electric (eight) and hybrid (seven) ferries profitable, with three already run on hybrid technology and two soon to come into service.</p> <p>― £62m in additional investment is required to meet the green ferry demand by 2030. £121m would be saved in operation costs over a 10 year period, with a return in 5.5 years.</p> <p>― All ferry services run by Caledonian MacBrayne should be run on electric or hybrid vessels by 2030 with an  additional 0.0025GW added to the energy demand.</p> <p>― Create a Carbon Fund wherein the business sector commits to achieving certain emission reductions through payments to an environmental fund, and these are then fed back to industry actors as investment support for additional costs incurred in enacting measures to reduce emissions.</p> <p>― Additional strategies in defence, broadband, housing and fishing are required to enhance the efficiency of Scotland’s energy policy.</p> <p>Scotland's capability to implement energy policy is currently hindered and as such is unable to realise its potential as a powerhouse of renewable energy without a radical shift in the UK Government’s approach to energy.</p> <p>The existing energy policy implemented by the UK Government has proven not to be fit for purpose. It has provided a market led, privatised monopoly which has left a significant number of citizens in fuel poverty.</p> <p>The Scottish Government, over the past number of years has been more proactive, in spite of the limitations of its control. This has encouraged the safeguarding of important landscapes, and directed investment towards green technology. However, limited access to power means successes have also been limited.</p> <p>By adopting a more collectivist attitude toward energy where necessary and breaking away from the policy regime of the UK Government, Scotland can then invest in the strategic planning and public ownership which has seen success in neighbouring countries.</p> <p>The structures of the new national energy company may be able to reduce costs for consumers once it is created. However, this energy company will currently have to work within the confines of the UK national energy strategy.</p> <p>The Scottish Government would have the ability to enact many of the policies put forward throughout this paper under devolution, but a key constraint on a truly transformative policy is the limited fiscal powers devolved to Holyrood (especially borrowing powers), which requires further devolution which encroaches beyond energy policy. The limitations of a UK privately-run energy grid would also act as a limiting factor on the proposals proposed above.</p> <p>The more powers that the Scottish Parliament can gain – up to and including independence - the better equipped Scotland will be to develop a fully-fledged bespoke energy strategy.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Renewables-Scotland-2030.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Renewables-Scotland-2030.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/589" hreflang="en">Energy transmission</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/449" hreflang="en">Electric vehicles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/274" hreflang="en">Shipping</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 01 Sep 2021 12:33:48 +0000 Stephen Richard 109 at https://indylibrary.scot Feed-In Tariffs Scheme: Common Weal Consultation Response https://indylibrary.scot/feed-in-tariffs-scheme-common-weal-consultation-response <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Feed-In Tariffs Scheme: Common Weal Consultation Response</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Gordon Morgan</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 01/09/2021 - 12:21</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2018-08-13T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">13/08/18</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/103" hreflang="en">Renewable energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">consultation response</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=347&amp;2=like_content" token="OFK--wnyiS4-S-7hweyzLZ_cwyAA0LaqIa0O-S0ajac"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Common Weal strongly disagrees with the proposal to end export and generation tariffs for renewable energy. It will be harmful to the renewable energy industry. It will not significantly reduce energy costs for consumers - they cost approximately £1 per household per year.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― Common Weal strongly disagrees with the proposal to end export and generation tariffs for renewable energy on 31st March 2019.</p> <p>― Doing so will be irrevocably harmful to the renewable industry with the solar industry likely to be badly affected.</p> <p>― It will slow progress on carbon emission reduction, particularly in England.</p> <p>― Eliminating the tariffs will not significantly reduce energy costs for consumers who don’t directly benefit from them – research has shown they only contribute to bills by approximately £1 per household per year.</p> <p>― In light of our fundamental disagreement with this proposal, Common Weal will make no comment on further questions in the consultation.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Feed-In-Tariffs-Scheme.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Feed-In-Tariffs-Scheme.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/224" hreflang="en">Energy generation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:21:27 +0000 Stephen Richard 347 at https://indylibrary.scot Energy Performance Certificates: An Alternative Approach https://indylibrary.scot/energy-performance-certificates-an-alternative-approach <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Energy Performance Certificates: An Alternative Approach</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Keith Baker </div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 01/09/2021 - 12:06</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Ron Mould, Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2018-12-17T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">17/12/18</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/114" hreflang="en">Housing</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=99&amp;2=like_content" token="6g-N4a5K9TRm0aqdWT9aybkqlLR2g2idFdEEBrr7Oos"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>There is an urgent need to understand the highly significant uncertainties around both the ratings and the appropriateness of the improvements recommended by EPC assessments.  The alternative approach is based on the fundamental principle of maximising the use of real data in order to provide buyers and tenants with accurate, robust, relevant, and useful information. </p> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― The aims of the European Union’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which requires EPCs to be produced for all new buildings and those being sold or rented out, are fundamentally sound and should serve to drive improvements in energy performance. However, in Scotland and the UK, the method by which EPCs are produced are fundamentally flawed. In particular, this is due to the reliance on using modelled energy consumption data rather than actual (measured) data.</p> <p>― In light of the increasing reliance on using EPC ratings as a key driver for Scottish Government policies on energy efficiency and fuel poverty, including proposals to mandate home and building owners to upgrade their properties to achieve higher ratings, there is an urgent need to understand the highly significant uncertainties around both the ratings and the appropriateness of the improvements recommended by EPC assessments. Then if the Scottish Government seeks to persist in using EPCs as a policy driver it should develop an alternative method for producing them which both more accurately reflects actual energy consumption and includes a more realistic and appropriate list of recommended improvements. Doing so is entirely within its devolved powers, and such an alternative approach would be more aligned to the EPBD’s guidance for producing EPCs.</p> <p>― This policy paper sets out such an alternative approach, and how it would achieve greater alignment with the EPBD. The approach is based on the fundamental principle of maximising the use of real data in order to provide buyers and tenants with accurate, robust, relevant, and useful information. The approach is also designed to maximise the use of data already being collected by the Scottish Government and public bodies in order to be cost effective. We present this approach as an answer to the frequently asked question of ‘if not EPCs, then what?’, and would welcome comments from other experts and stakeholders as to how it could be refined further.</p> <p> </p> <p>Energy Performance Certificates as they stand are not a valid driver for policy.  What should replace them? Through a deconstruction of the legislation and the modelling that underpins EPCs we have shown both the limitations and implications of using EPCs in their current form as a policy driver, and 12 Common Weal Energy Performance Certificates: An alternative approach have presented an alternative approach which meets all the necessary legislative requirements and which can be implemented directly under currently devolved powers. Although this work is focussed on domestic EPCs we have set out how it can be applied directly to non-domestic EPCs through harmonisation with the future development of the Scottish Sustainability Label.</p> <p>This alternative approach not only directly addresses the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, it is a better way of implementing those requirements, and serves to counter the potential for damage to social welfare under non-ideal circumstances. Furthermore, the costs of adopting the alternative approach, even without offsetting against the wider economic savings, are far from the scale of the only two viable alternatives, whilst also reducing the need for and costs of modelling.</p> <p>We present this alternative approach for further discussion and as a step towards the formalisation and implementation of a more accurate, robust, realistic, appropriate and workable method for producing EPCs, and look forward to further engagement with the Scottish Government, stakeholders and experts to resolve the problems caused by the current approach.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/EPC.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/EPC.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/566" hreflang="en">Energy Performance Certificates</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/176" hreflang="en">Domestic heating</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/257" hreflang="en">Energy efficiency</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/505" hreflang="en">Energy efficient buildings</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:30 +0000 Stephen Richard 99 at https://indylibrary.scot The Future of Low Carbon Heat For Off-Gas Buildings https://indylibrary.scot/the-future-of-low-carbon-heat-for-off-gas-buildings <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Future of Low Carbon Heat For Off-Gas Buildings</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 31/08/2021 - 16:45</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Glaagow Caledonian University, Energy Poverty Research Initiative</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2019-09-17T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">17/09/19</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/114" hreflang="en">Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=186&amp;2=like_content" token="EADc370hjbsW9BC8zNa04LHbc6W264nzZkjASs-y8T8"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The primary barrier to the roll-out of low carbon heat is financial. Efficient schemes will have to be government financed. Biofuels may play a significant role in rural heating where they can seamlessly replace off-grid heating without the need to install new infrastructure.</p> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>―  We have identified no examples of low-carbon heating being taken up on a large scale without government assistance.</p> <p>― The primary barrier to the roll-out of low carbon heat is financial. Efficient schemes like renewably powered district heating will have to be government financed.</p> <p>― Without significant government planning, individual households are likely to decarbonise their heat using heat pumps which, while an improvement over fossil fuels, have significant downsides – not least, their collective impact on the electrical grid.</p> <p>― Biofuels like biopropane or biokerosene may play a significant role in rural heating where they can seamlessly replace off-grid heating without the need to install new infrastructure.</p> <p>― However we remain cautious about the roll-out of hydrogen which will require almost as much new infrastructure as district heating, will deliver less good outcomes and will encourage the use of “blue” hydrogen derived from fossil fuels as much as it will encourage “green” hydrogen from renewable sources.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Low-carbon-heat-submission.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Low-carbon-heat-submission.p…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/606" hreflang="en">Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/505" hreflang="en">Energy efficient buildings</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/696" hreflang="en">Fuel poverty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/504" hreflang="en">Low carbon heating</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/576" hreflang="en">Bio-fuels</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/491" hreflang="en">Hydrogen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/can-scotland-provide-adequate-housing" hreflang="en">Can Scotland provide adequate housing?</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 31 Aug 2021 15:45:12 +0000 Stephen Richard 186 at https://indylibrary.scot Consultation on Distribution Futures Energy Scenarios https://indylibrary.scot/consultation-distribution-futures-energy-scenarios <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Consultation on Distribution Futures Energy Scenarios</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 31/08/2021 - 15:41</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Gordon Morgan, Keith Baker, Paul Gill, Brian Richardson, Iain Wright, Common Weal, Energy Policy Working Group</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2020-05-25T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">25/05/20</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=287&amp;2=like_content" token="BD_pKOEhDQ4qpZQmKKCSbxvyzbm2iLQEdlI6b_PRGe0"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The use of electric vehicles is over-estimated due to changing work patterns. Private vehicles should be discouraged from city centres to concentrate on public transport and active travel. District Heating Systems offer better outcomes with less strain on the electrical grid than heat pumps.  New buildings need to be constructed to passive energy standards.</p> <p> </p> <h3> </h3> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― The Scenarios presented overestimate the number of electric cars likely to be in use in Scotland by 2050 due to underestimating the rise of home working, car sharing, internet shopping and public transport.</p> <p>― Electric vehicles should be as discouraged from city centres as internal combustion vehicles will be. Instead, the focus should be on public transport and active travel.</p> <p>― Air-Sourced Heat Pumps are unlikely to generate enough heat for many houses in Scotland. District Heating Systems offer better outcomes with less strain on the electrical grid – especially for new buildings constructed to passive energy standards.</p> <p>― The Scottish Government should develop a national Energy Storage Strategy covering both electricity and heat.</p> <p>― Carbon Capture and Storage should not be used as part of a “net-zero” target though it may be required as part of post-2040 plans to remove CO₂ from the environment.</p> <h3> </h3></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Future-Energy-Scenarios-Consultation.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Future-Energy-Scenarios-Cons…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/195" hreflang="en">Energy policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/449" hreflang="en">Electric vehicles</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/410" hreflang="en">Heat pumps</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">District heating</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/607" hreflang="en">Carbon capture</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 31 Aug 2021 14:41:45 +0000 Stephen Richard 287 at https://indylibrary.scot Scottish Offshore Wind. Strategic Investment Assessment. https://indylibrary.scot/scottish-offshore-wind-strategic-investment-assessment <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Scottish Offshore Wind. Strategic Investment Assessment. </span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Maf Smith</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Fri, 20/08/2021 - 20:51</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Joss Blamire, Rob Spice, Louise Wheeler, Tom Quinn, Gavin Smart</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">August 2021</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Assessment report</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=220&amp;2=like_content" token="nFm0Br8feDHZD2et3JjY5HlkU_B3Ec5Jy2cLDJmnMms"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>This independent report gives:</p> <p>• A summary of the status of the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland<br /> • A Map of future deployment <br /> • Scenarios of potential economic impact <br /> • Recommendations for immediate action </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Summary of Recommendations</p> <p><br /> Recommendation One: The offshore wind sector’s priority must be the establishment of<br /> a collaboration framework focused on building confidence amongst Scottish ports, so that<br /> required investment is brought forward in time. The immediate priority of such a<br /> collaborative framework is supporting the creation of a Scottish Floating Offshore Wind<br /> Port Cluster.</p> <p>Recommendation Two: Support Scottish suppliers and get them ready to bid for and win<br /> work<br /> The working of the CfD process creates built in advantages for market incumbents so can<br /> make it hard for new entrants to break into the market. To address this specific support is<br /> needed to support Scottish suppliers get ready to bid for work. The offshore wind industry<br /> can help this by taking responsibility for opening up contracting activity, and in particular<br /> ensuring tier one contractors work with the Scottish supply chain. Government can help<br /> Scottish-based EPCI expertise in oil and gas transition into offshore wind.</p> <p>Recommendation Three: Celebrate and sell Scottish success<br /> If Scotland is to attract investment to build a successful Scottish Floating Offshore Wind<br /> Port Cluster, there is a need to better tell the story and build up Scotland’s reputation for<br /> high quality engineering and sub-sea expertise. Scotland needs to be active selling<br /> Scotland as a leading floating wind market and as a market that can support other global<br /> markets as they embark on energy transition.</p> <p>Recommendation Four: Plan for future growth and the next generation of innovations<br /> While offshore wind is a mature technology, the market is still evolving and needs to<br /> innovate to stay competitive. However, more needs to be done to think more clearly about<br /> how the market in Scotland supports innovation in offshore wind and across the different stages of technology readiness. More support and focus are needed to allow near-commercial technologies to grow and succeed.</p> <p>Recommendation Five: Plan for energy transition and a future of far-from-shore, mixed-<br /> use energy projects</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzGzej-SciagprIaPMrl8DqVl5KTF_Ar/view" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzGzej-SciagprIaPMrl8DqVl5KTF_Ar/view</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/575" hreflang="en">Offshore wind</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/338" hreflang="en">Ports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/634" hreflang="en">Renewable manufacturing</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Fri, 20 Aug 2021 19:51:47 +0000 Stephen Richard 220 at https://indylibrary.scot Carbon-Free, Povetery-Free: Heating Options for Rural Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/carbon-free-povetery-free-heating-options-rural-scotland <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Carbon-Free, Povetery-Free: Heating Options for Rural Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Ron Mould, Craig Dalzell, Jonathan Shafi</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 18/08/2021 - 10:27</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Glasgow Caledonian University, Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2019-06-17T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">17/06/19</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=302&amp;2=like_content" token="3byWe2o9mF45FkFqj3WaXXJMRUq30Z47SUVJPlryahE"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Fuel poverty is not only worse in rural Scotland than in urban Scotland, it also has different characteristics. Fuel poverty plays a much larger role in rural poverty than in urban poverty.  By far the biggest driver of this fuel poverty is not being on the gas grid. </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p> </p> <p>Electricity is cheap to install and familiar to users – but it is very expensive to run and ties household emissions to that of the electricity grid. Some emerging technologies such as infrared have some potential applications (particularly in solid stone-wall dwellings) but are probably not optimal for most housing.</p> <p>― Household-mounted solar thermal is cheap to install, cheap to generate and highly flexible – but a standard installation will not meet 100 per cent of heating need (particularly in properties which share a roof) and would require the additional installation of heat storage or for changes in occupants’ habits and behaviours. Large-array solar thermal has even more advantages than household-mounted, producing very cheap heating that can be stored and is capable of providing over half of heating requirement – but it requires a district heating system to distribute the heat.</p> <p>― There are a variety of biogas and waste incineration options including anaerobic digestion of waste and the use of biomass to generate bio LPG. It has the advantage of being an easy, direct replacement for natural gas and oil but government support will be required to incentivise the development of domestic sources of bio LPG supply.</p> <p>― Both ground-source and air-source heat pumps have a role to play but are site specific, have long repayment times and all require an additional heating source to top up the heat level (which usually involves nonrenewable heating sources). Larger scale heat pumps attached to district heating schemes have much higher efficiency.</p> <p>― Hydrogen can be used as a direct gas replacement but is very expensive to produce and large-scale deployment would almost certainly rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and would compete with other uses for hydrogen such as transport. (However, this is a better option for communities which have excess renewable electricity supplies, such as islands with limited capacity to export to the grid).</p> <p>― Wood fuel biomass has significant scope to replace existing heat sources at a fairly competitive price, but its use in urban areas will be limited by pollution legislation and it would be imperative to ensure a reliable domestic supply chain for the fuel source. The conclusion from this review of heating options is there will need to be a multiple-technology approach to decarbonising heat everywhere in Scotland with no single credible solution able to meet demand in any one location (and few households having the conditions which would enable a single renewable replacement technology)</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Carbon-free-Poverty-free.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Carbon-free-Poverty-free.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">District heating</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/696" hreflang="en">Fuel poverty</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/621" hreflang="en">Rural economy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/273" hreflang="en">Rural poverty</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 18 Aug 2021 09:27:28 +0000 Stephen Richard 302 at https://indylibrary.scot Just Warmth: Developing equitable and Sustainable District Heating Systems in Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/just-warmth-developing-equitable-and-sustainable-district-heating-systems-scotland <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Just Warmth: Developing equitable and Sustainable District Heating Systems in Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Keith Baker, Ron Mould</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 18/08/2021 - 09:58</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2019-05-12T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">12/05/19</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=317&amp;2=like_content" token="JPkuC-5wvBWi4hUwdzP7WijMp4TA2ddnXA98ozOrf-A"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland heats the majority of its homes and buildings in inefficient and deleterious efforts to become a net zero-carbon nation. Much more effective than individual boilers would be a system of District Heating Systems (DHS). These DHS networks could be supplied with a variety of sources such as biomass, solar thermal or industrial waste heat.</p> <p>With almost all heat currently being generated by fossil fuels, it is vital that this sector rapidly decarbonises and DHS will play a significant role in this. The roll-out of DHS networks is not significantly limited by the lack of devolved powers and work can be done to begin this immediately (though the full roll-out of bodies such as a National Energy Company would require additional powers).</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>With almost all heat currently being generated by fossil fuels, it is vital that this sector rapidly decarbonises and DHS will play a significant role in this. The roll-out of DHS networks is not significantly limited by the lack of devolved powers and work can be done to begin this immediately (though the full roll-out of bodies such as a National Energy Company would require additional powers).</p> <p>― The current system under which DHS projects are commissioned, designed and implemented is a critical and substantial barrier to the successful development and deployment of heat networks in Scotland. There is now an urgent need for the Scottish Government to re-think its approach to strategic planning for DHS. This is entirely within the scope of currently devolved powers, and the development of publicly-owned National Energy Company (NEC) presents a number of significant opportunities for addressing these policy failures. The NEC should operate in partnership with a Scottish Energy Development Agency (SEDA) and a public National Energy Service (NES) to maximise the benefits of investment in new DHS projects. Our full proposals for the NES will be outlined in our next policy paper.</p> <p>―  What evidence from successful projects elsewhere shows is that using multi-technology approaches, particularly those combining large scale solar thermal with sustainable biomass and inter-seasonal heat storage and heat recovery technologies, must become a central theme in the future development of DHS in Scotland. </p> <p>― The Scottish Government has, to date, critically failed to understand and address the impact of policy silos on efforts to develop DHS, heat networks, and other the energy infrastructure that will be essential for securing a green energy future for our country. DHS is a prime example of this as the legislation and support needed to deliver successful projects cuts across a particularly wide range of policy remits.</p> <p>― Strategic planning for the future development of DHS and heat networks in Scotland must be directed nationally and delivered locally, but the Scottish Government must ensure all devolved responsibilities, particularly those placed on local authorities, are suitably funded and resourced. </p> <p>― The adoption of multi-technology approaches to the development and deployment of heat networks should be central to delivering a Scottish DHS revolution. Recovering waste heat and utilising local site-specific renewable resources should be seen as key priorities for strategic planning for new schemes, and energy from waste (EfW) systems will require consideration relative to other options for providing heat and managing waste. However, the combined solar thermal, sustainable biomass and inter-seasonal heat storage model now gaining traction across Europe provides a highly replicable, flexible and cost-effective technological option.</p> <p>― The development of local, sustainable biomass supply chains to provide fuel for new DHS schemes itself presents significant opportunities to leverage direct and co-benefits for job creation, recreation, tourism, enhancing biodiversity, tackling climate change and fuel poverty, and regenerating deprived rural and remote areas of Scotland. This is an opportunity Scotland cannot afford to miss.</p> <p> </p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Just-Warmth.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Just-Warmth.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/160" hreflang="en">District heating</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/333" hreflang="en">Biomass energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 18 Aug 2021 08:58:09 +0000 Stephen Richard 317 at https://indylibrary.scot Powering our Ambitions: the Role of Scotland's National Energy Company and the Case for a Scottish Energy Evelopment Agency https://indylibrary.scot/powering-our-ambitions-role-scotlands-national-energy-company-and-case-scottish-energy-evelopment <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Powering our Ambitions: the Role of Scotland&#039;s National Energy Company and the Case for a Scottish Energy Evelopment Agency</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Keith Baker</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 18/08/2021 - 09:32</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Common Weal, Gordon Morgan, Ron Mould, Iain Wright</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2019-02-08T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">08/02/19</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=313&amp;2=like_content" token="1y6n2IozVL78rDDjgsGKiagk5voCGXu0gyOfLIUzZGY"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>A call for the Scottish Government to launch a National Energy Company and a Scottish Energy Development Agency.  These bodies would work together to rapidly and strategically decarbonise Scotland’s energy network whilst also supporting community energy projects and developing the new skills and technologies Scotland – and the world – will need to face the challenges of climate change and fuel poverty.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― The Scottish Government’s aim of establishing a publicly owned energy company (NEC) presents a number of significant and substantial opportunities to demonstrate leadership in developing renewable and low carbon energy supplies, tackling climate change and other environmental issues, and addressing the need to provide low cost, low or zero carbon energy to Scotland’s fuel poor and otherwise vulnerable householders.  It would be a serious missed opportunity if the NEC was viewed simply as a publicly-owned energy supply company. This has limited opportunities to tackle the above problems and would have only a slight effect in lowering retail fuel costs.</p> <p>― A Scottish Government Energy Development Agency (SEDA) should be established alongside the NEC as a commercial company. The NEC would, until the establishment of a Scottish energy regulator, be ultimately regulated by Ofgem for relevant parts of its activities. This dual approach should largely mirror the successful approach adopted by the Danish Energy Agency.   The NEC should be established as both an energy supplier and, more importantly, as a developer and manager of energy generation, distribution and fuel supply assets.  There are clear benefits and co-benefits to be gained from the NEC being directly involved in the development and management of new heat networks and microgrids. </p> <p>― The SEDA should coordinate the distribution of R&amp;D funding and any funds associated with strategic planning and overcoming the rural / urban fuel divide, coordinate and prioritise the training of technology experts in district heating type technologies and enable wider social and economic value through identifying projects that may offer poor commercial returns but would deliver indirect benefits (co-benefits) to the economy, society, and the environment. These projects could then be managed and delivered by the NEC where no other suitable delivery vehicle exists. Therefore, the assessment and justification for public investment in the NEC should not be limited purely to measures of direct benefits and commercial success, but should as in the development of hydrogen and wave power projects in Orkney, be seen as a catalyst and test bed for future commercial projects.</p> <p>― A fundamental aim of the NEC should be the strategic development and delivery of new zero / low carbon energy supplies to fuel-poor and otherwise vulnerable householders and to rural, remote, and otherwise disadvantaged communities. The most important, and generally most appropriate, technologies here are community and building-scale electricity generation technologies (solar photovoltaics, community-scale wind, micro-hydro, etc) and either building-mounted solar thermal or multi-technology district heating systems that combine sustainable energy supplies, for example large-scale solar thermal, geothermal, suitable biomass, or hydro, with inter-seasonal heat storage, and heat recovery systems. The scope of the NEC’s operations should also, therefore, include the development of local, sustainable, fuel supply chains.</p> <p>― The NEC should, through guidance from its board and in accordance with the aims of the SEDA, seek to enable, rather than compete with, the growth of other non-profit and community-controlled energy companies. But the Scottish Government should, with urgency, look at the assets and infrastructure of the recently closed down Our Power business to see if these might be purchased or acquired to form some of the necessary infrastructure of the NEC.</p> <p>― The establishment of the NEC also opens up an avenue for the development of a public National Energy Service along the lines of, and integrated with, the NHS and other public services for the purposes of sharing data to enable all bodies to better meet the support needs of fuel poor and otherwise vulnerable householders.</p> <p>― Where upgrading the insulation of or substantial alteration to buildings is not allowed as part of decarbonising new and existing buildings the NEC and SEDA, backed by simple and appropriate legislation, should act as a vehicle for ensuring such solutions (e.g. new off-site renewables) are retained within or close to local communities.</p> <p>― The establishment of the NEC will enable the ramping up of the development and deployment of a number of community and household scale renewable and low carbon technologies which have so far been significantly under-utilised as part of the Scottish Government’s strategies for reducing emissions, tackling fuel poverty, and enabling community empowerment. Particularly, small and large-scale solar thermal, inter-seasonal thermal storage, anaerobic digestion, and biomass using local, sustainable fuel sources that would provide additional co-benefits to local communities, the economy, and the environment. In Island communities, the role of hydrogen as a fuel may be part of this mix particularly as regards ferry transport, energy storage, and the production of syngas. In these latter cases the roles of the NEC should include enabling the development and, where appropriate, management of the supply chains.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Powering-Our-Ambitions.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Powering-Our-Ambitions.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/224" hreflang="en">Energy generation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/436" hreflang="en">Insulation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/619" hreflang="en">Community energy generation</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 18 Aug 2021 08:32:02 +0000 Stephen Richard 313 at https://indylibrary.scot Scotland is a Powerhouse of Renewable Energy https://indylibrary.scot/scotland-powerhouse-renewable-energy <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Scotland is a Powerhouse of Renewable Energy</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Scottish National Party</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Sat, 31/07/2021 - 08:56</span> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2021-07-30T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">30/07/21</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/80" hreflang="en">Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Video</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-length field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)</div> <div class="field__item">1:53 minute video.</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=144&amp;2=like_content" token="L1qszTgD9Ma9onbh9wian20u9pxEZgbVeuGGBOYmCeo"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scotland generates more renewable energy that it uses.   </p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The renewable energy that is generated in Scotland will have a demand from England contrary to some suggestions.  England generates 73% of the energy it uses.  England's options are to buy from the EU, Scotland or shut down parts of its economy.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4163436013755538" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4163436013755538</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/223" hreflang="en">Renewable Energy</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/does-scotland-have-enough-energy-resources" hreflang="en">Does Scotland have enough energy resources?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Sat, 31 Jul 2021 07:56:34 +0000 Stephen Richard 144 at https://indylibrary.scot