Scotland

Dounreay floating wind farm could create hundreds of jobs but environment and shipping have to be considered, says Caithness councillor. Plans to build a floating wind farm off the Dounreay coast “could create hundreds of jobs,” according to local Highland councillor Matthew Reiss. But the Thurso and northwest Caithness representative stressed that other factors, such as the environment and shipping routes have to be considered as well. Councillor Reiss said people need to be open-minded about the proposal which would be led by Highland Wind Limited and backed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a Danish fund management company which has invested in a number of offshore wind projects around the world and had a 35 per cent stake in Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd. The development would have an installed capacity of up to 100 megawatts and be an update on the earlier Dounreay Trì project. It was managed by a subsidiary of Hexicon, a Swedish investment business and planned to build two 10 megawatt turbines six kilometres offshore as a demonstrator project but encountered financial difficulties.

John O’Groat Journal 23rd July 2021 read more »

With no connection to the UK national grid, Shetland looked to neighbouring Scandinavia for a low-carbon, sustainable heating system model to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, writes Anthony Harrington. If Scotland is going to reach its net-zero target by 2045, one of the things that is going to have to change is the way we heat our homes, offices and public buildings. At present some 30 percent or more of the nation’s carbon emissions come from heating these three estates through gas-fired boilers. By way of contrast, the Scandinavian countries have been using a number of district heating systems for many decades. As a result, they have amassed a considerable body of evidence to show that these systems can have a considerably lower carbon footprint than an equivalent number of individual gas-fired heating units. In Shetland, where there is no connection to the UK’s mains gas grid, the community is able to boast a successful, fully functioning district heating system that has been heating some 1300 island homes, public buildings and businesses for some 21 years now. While the Shetland example does not help to solve the problem of how government could best drive a transition away from the traditional gas fired boilers, it does provide a close-to-home example of a moderately large-scale, successfully functioning district heating system which was modelled, in large part, on the Scandinavian experience. When the Shetland Islands’ Council decided back in the mid-1990s, to look into ways of implementing a sustainable heating system, it opted to study Scandinavian examples. In particular, as Derek Leask, executive director of the company that runs the Islands’ heating systems notes, the council was interested in waste-to-heating schemes.

Herald 23rd July 2021 read more »

More than 70 bids have been made by companies for the ScotWind offshore leasing round, showing the country’s “scale of potential” for offshore wind development. The huge seabed giveaway, the first in more than a decade, was launched by Crown Estate Scotland in June 2020 and has attracted 74 applications for rights to build projects across 15 areas. Crown Estate Scotland said it is aiming to make initial offers in January 2022.

Energy Voice 22nd July 2021 read more »

AN AREA east of Shetland which has been pinpointed as a possible site for an offshore wind farm has attracted interest from developers. Crown Estate Scotland confirmed that all 15 areas in the country’s waters which were designated by the Scottish Government as potential offshore wind sites received applications in a recent auction. It was part of the ScotWind leasing process, which asked developers to bid for rights to build projects on parts of Scotland’s seabed. A total of 74 applications were received for the 15 sites. Documents previously showed that the area east of Shetland, which covers 751 square kilometres, could offer a realistic maximum output of 2GW.

Shetland News 22nd July 2021 read more »

Inverness Courier 22nd July 2021 read more »

THE scale of interest in windfarm licences off Scotland has been underlined after more international heavyweights said they had joined the bidding for acreage in the landmark ScotWind round. The Maple Power venture formed by Canadian energy infrastructure business Enbridge and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board described the licensing round as an “industry leading and highly attractive opportunity”.

Herald 21st July 2021 read more »

A Scottish-based consortium of leading offshore wind companies and funders is aiming to create high quality jobs through its participation in Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing process. The NextGen consortium, led by Quaybridge Scotland, Parkwind and Maple Power is backed by a number of strategic partners including BlackRock Real Assets and Sumitomo Corporation. From its base in Quaybridge’s Fife office, NextGen has worked closely with stakeholders across Scotland to complete early development work, pilot innovative supply chain interventions and build community level relationships for the last three years.

Inverness Courier 20th July 2021 read more »

SNP ministers and the Scottish Greens were urged today to set a “stretching but achievable” target to massively increase Scotland’s capacity for solar power as part of formal power-sharing talks. Solar Energy Scotland argues that such a move could help boost the economy, saying that every gigawatt of new solar capacity creates 500 full-time equivalent jobs. The organisation has pressed the issue in a letter to both First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the co-leaders of the Scottish Greens as the two parties are now in discussions on a possible formal co-operation agreement whereby Greens could join the Scottish Cabinet.

Morning Star 19th July 2021 read more »