One day of wind — Scotland’s energy future

A new Scottish energy identity means building on their one day of pure wind power.

A typical summer Sunday in Scotland; 100mph winds, gale-force disruption to transport and a runaway oil tanker. But this stormy cloud had one big silver lining — 100% renewable energy generation for one whole day.

Scotland is primed for renewable energy generation. It’s windy year round, it has swathes of sparsely populated land, and the east coast has more days of sun a year than the rest of the UK. It’s demand is low, particularly on a lazy Sunday. With only 5million people, it doesn’t take many to be on summer holidays, or day out of the house for demand to plummet. Still, the weather in the North will have kept lots in, and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen still need a huge supply.

Energy generation is a fine balance for Scotland, The country’s economy is heavily reliant on it’s dwindling North Sea Oil. Record consistent low oil prices is one of the reasons their independence movement is paused. But it has a (nominally) centre-left Government, full of rhetoric on climate change and low-carbon generation. And as I’ve said it’s ability to generate clean energy is far superior to the rest of the UK.

“However, if we want this ensure we reap the many benefits of becoming a low-carbon economy we need to see this political support for renewables continue.” WWF Scotland’s director Lang Banks

Commitment to developing renewables has to be part of Scotland’s future. And since 2006 the Scottish Government have stated their own climate change targets, seperate to Westminster. Oil prices do not look like rising any time soon, and a suffering industry means lost jobs, and for the SNP potentially lost votes. Propping up a oil firms is expensive, and practically difficult with state aid rules. Holyrood’s current budget deficit won’t look favourably on investments that don’t return.

Renewable energy can help build a new identity for Scotland, fitting with it’s progressive outlook. The striking images of wind farms on dramatic Scottish hills, or across the North Sea, can provide the work that Aberdeen is already losing. Scotland is already diverging from the UK’s energy identity. Overturning the Westminster moratorium on Onshore wind, pushing for the continuation for the renewable heat incentive or resisting shale gas.

“We have a clear policy for an energy mix to provide energy security for the future and will set out our ambitions for an integrated approach to low carbon technologies within our draft energy strategy later this year. This will include exploring the option of setting a new renewable energy target.” Scottish Government Spokesperson

The high-cost of transmission of energy makes localised renewable sites a viable future for Scotland’s outcrops. As the rest of the UK looks to Scotland to meet it’s renewable targets, Scotland can charge Westminster for the high costs of transmitting clean energy south of the border. Passing the costs back to the Westminster government which has restricted it’s renewable development since 2010.

Pushing for devolved energy will be hard, it’s a central plank to forming an independent country, and could push up costs to Westminster. But it’s vital to securing a low-carbon future for both Scotland and the rest of the Country.