Can Scotland reach their energy targets if they gain independence?

Target of 100% renewable energy may fail without UK help

If Scotland votes to become independent it may result in plans to become totally reliable on renewable energy being scrapped.

This warning comes from academics from four UK universities, who believe that the country won’t be able to fund Alex Salmond’s ambitious plans for 100% of Scotland’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020 if they break away from the UK. Scotland would have to spend billions to fund projects such as offshore wind farms and tidal devices on their own, as they would lose all financial support from the UK government. 

Alex Salmond's plans for a 100% renewable-powered Scotland may have to be put on hold

(Image source - Telegraph)

Academics from universities in Cardiff, Birmingham, Robert Gordan and Queens in Belfast, who worked on the report, titled ‘Delivering Renewable Energy Under Devolution’, believe that this increased cost will result in the target either being postponed to a later date or being scrapped completely. ‘Gaining greater control over energy policy is likely to be an inferior option as far as getting renewables funded is concerned, in comparison with the prospect of achieving a scheme organised by Westminster in which the costs are shared across the UK’, states their report, to be published this week in the journal Political Quarterly. ‘This is because, in practice, funding a significant expansion of Scottish-based off-shore renewables under independence would lead to considerable increases in Scottish electricity prices, something that a Scottish government would find hard to sustain politically’.

For Scotland to meet their energy target requirements, they would have to replace the amount of energy generated from fossil fuels and nuclear power, which is currently 50% of the country’s total energy output. They will also have to deal with the higher costs of developing off-shore wind farms in Scotland, as seas are rougher and deeper, making it harder to build, as well as the fact that off-shore wind farms in England and Wales are cheaper and already more advanced. Also, Scotland will likely lose business from the UK, as the UK will be unlikely to continue to support Scotland’s renewable energy projects with subsidies if they gain independence, as there are cheaper energy alternatives in Ireland.

Linking offshore wind farms to grid will cost £17bn

Fears that development costs could lead to higher prices for consumers

Plans to link offshore wind farms to the grid may result in higher electricity prices for consumers, it has been warned by a committee of MPs.

The method of bringing power from offshore wind farms, and onshore ones, to land is very complex and has been a major obstacle in the development and expansion of the wind energy industry, as a heavy-duty transmission infrastructure has to be developed, which has left many wind farms waiting for long periods to be connected to the grid.

Currently, a licensing system is in place which allows transmission lines to be constructed by the National Grid and other developers, who are then given a guaranteed income for 20 years; a total cost of £17bn. However, companies can only be fined 10% of their income if they fail to meet obligations, which Margaret Hodge, the chair of the public accounts committee, fears will lead to higher prices for consumers. She said, ‘Not only is it unlikely that this licensing system for bringing electricity from offshore wind farms on to the national grid will deliver any savings for consumers, it could well lead to higher prices. Indeed the terms of the licences appear to have been designed almost entirely to attract investors at the expense of securing a good deal for consumers’.

Offshore wind farms seem to be a good source of energy, but getting to use this energy is costly

(Image source - The Guardian)

Ofgem, the energy regulator, responded to the MPs report by highlighting the fact that it was only able to cover the first four tenders for licences, and added that the competition for these licences had saved customers about £290m. They said: ‘Our objective is to ensure this necessary investment is delivered at a fair price. As with any new market, there are lessons from early transactions. The initial tenders were conducted under interim arrangements. "It has always been Ofgem's intent to refine the tender process to deliver greater efficiencies and further benefits to consumers’.

As has been said before, new forms of energy production will, in the short term, lead to higher bills to cover the costs of implementing these new initiatives, though it is expected that these renewable forms of energy production will lead to cheaper bills in the future. But what do you think? Are you willing to pay more now for cheaper bills later? Let us know your views in the comments below.

Act on climate change Obama!

Campaigners call on President to commit to promises

Following his election victory last month, Barack Obama has been urged by climate change campaigners to turn his environmental promises into real working policies during his second term as President.

Environmental groups, who admitted they were reluctant to push the President on the issue during his first term, are now determined to hold him to his vague post-election promises and make sure he backs new action on climate change. Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who is a strong campaigner for climate change supported these views, stating, "He passed historic healthcare legislation, now he needs to work on climate change”. He added that Sandy had changed the political dynamics of climate change. "If you are a Republican above the Mason-Dixon line is it no longer going to be possible for you to start making jokes about climate. That era is gone," he said. "Republicans now have to be more respectful of science."

Obama has talked about the impact of climate change, but will he deliver on his promises to act on it?

(Image source - The New York Times)

Markey, along with other experts at a forum event hosted by Climate Desk, offered up a list of options Obama can take to "flex his executive muscle" and push Congress and government agencies into action. Some of the recommendations on this list included:-

i) The extension of tax credits for wind farms, which are due to expire this year

ii) An adoption of a renewable electricity standard (something that 30 states have already) on a national scale, meaning every state would be required to get a share of its electricity from sources such as solar and wind

iii) A commitment from the President to use the full power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions from large industrial sources

So what do you think? Should Obama commit to affirmative action on climate change? Let us know in the comments below.

US set for offshore wind farms

Areas along Atlantic coast to be 'opened up' for turbines

Large areas of land along the Atlantic coast of the United States of America will be opened up for the development of offshore wind farms by the Obama administration. 

Competitive lease sales of around 432 square miles of land off the coast of states such as Virginia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts will be offered by mid-2013, with the scheme looking to launch the country’s first offshore wind farm project. Despite hundreds of turbines being built across America over the past few years, all of them have been on the mainland, and wind farms themselves still only make up 3% of the country’s energy use.

This could be the scene across the Atlantic coast of the US within a few years

(Image source - The Guardian)

According to the US government, there is enough wind along the Atlantic coast to power up to 1.4 million homes, which is seen as ‘enormous potential’ by Kevin Salazar, the interior secretary, who sees the scheme as a way of ‘moving closer to tapping into this massive domestic energy resource to create jobs, increase our energy security and strengthen our nation’s competitiveness in this new energy frontier’.

However, whilst there is enthusiasm among many for this scheme, there may also be criticism. Building turbines offshore is much more expensive than building them on land, and there are many people opposed to turbines due to their visual impact. The proposed turbines would be 10 miles off the coast of Rhode Island and around 23 nautical miles from Virginia. Officials stated that the sites were chosen to avoid environmental concerns and backlash from locals.

Wind farms to give energy bill discounts

'Community tariff' offered to residents living near Good Energy wind farms

A new energy tariff will offer energy discounts to people living near wind farms owned by utilities company Good Energy. 

People who live within two kilometres of a Good Energy wind farm will get a 20% discount on their energy bills, which could save them around £110 a year. The new local electricity tariff will be launched next year and will only apply to the Delabole wind farm in Cornwall to start with (as this is the only farm Good Energy currently owns), but will apply to all new wind farms the company opens in the future. Good Energy expects to develop wind farms that can produce an overall capacity of around 100MW in the UK by 2016. Tariff customers will also receive an annual bonus if the wind turbines overproduce energy.

Turbines at the Delabole wind farm in Cornwall

(Source- This is North Cornwall)

The idea of a local tariff had been talked about for the past two years, according to Good Energy chief executive Juliet Davenport, who sees the idea as part of a bigger plan to ‘bring people closer to their energy source’. Davenport also believes the scheme will help wind farms get backing from people opposed to them because of their visual impact on an area, as they will be getting a ‘share of the benefit’ from the turbines, which would in some way make up for their effect on the landscape.

The new tariff will cover discounts for around 400 homes in Delabole and will cost Good Energy £25,000. Residents in Turriff in Aberdeenshire will also get the benefits of this new tariff as a wind farm is currently being planned there.

Britain doesn't need any more wind farms?

Political row as Tory minister claims UK has 'enough' turbines

The Coalition Government has clashed once again after a Conservative minister claimed that the country doesn’t need any more wind farms.

John Hayes told a newspaper that the country is ‘peppered’ with an ‘extraordinary’ amount of wind turbines which have been ‘imposed on communities’. He intended to include these comments in a speech Tuesday night but was told to remove them by Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, who took control of renewable energy strategy from Hayes earlier this year.

This latest row is yet another in a long line of Lib Dem/Tory confrontations over renewable energy. In February, 101 Tories signed a letter demanding an end to onshore wind farm subsidies, and in the summer Davey had to fight to win a 10% cut in the level of subsidies, as George Osbourne had wanted a 25% cut.

Many people, including leading global wind and nuclear power companies, are worried that the continued in-fighting of the Coalition and political uncertainty could threaten millions of pounds worth of investment in energy projects in the UK.