Sustainable Scotland
As the earth's finite resources – gas, coal and oil – continue to dwindle, the world is coming increasingly to focus on renewable, sustainable energy sources like wind, tide and waves. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its long tradition of groundbreaking activity in the field of scientific research, Scotland is a pioneer in the drive towards sustainable energy. Indeed our country has set itself one of the stiffest targets of any developed nation: aiming to produce 40 per cent of electricity from renewable means by 2020.
No wonder then that Scotland is about to offer one of the largest scientific prizes in the world, in the field of renewable energy research. With a £10 million prize fund, the Horizon Prize looks set to attract entries from all around the globe in an attempt to find a new breakthrough in drawing energy from the world's seas. Energy Minister, Jim Mather said the prize would 'make Scotland a leading centre for renewable energy'. He continued, 'Scotland can now challenge scientists and businesses around the world to bring the vast potential of clean, green, alternative energy online years sooner than might otherwise happen'.
Scotland currently produces around 20% of her energy from green sources, making her a key player in the worldwide renewable energy market. Hydroelectricity production has long been one of Scotland's key energy sources, dating back to the early twentieth century and with a huge expansion after World War Two.
Similarly, today, Scotland is a major user of wind power – with 43 separate wind projects currently on-stream – and the renewable energy market is already on the way to becoming a key employer in Scotland; there are over 2,500 jobs in the growing sector which turns over more than 500 million pounds a year. It's an area likely to see huge expansion in the near future too, says Jason Ormiston, CEO of Scottish Renewables. 'For instance', Ormiston says, 'Scotland currently only has one manufacturer of solar panels, which employs a handful of people. We could invest in skills and ramping up activity . . ..'
Not that there isn't already a lot of activity out there. Heriot-Watt University has developed MREDS – Marine Renewable Energy Development in Scotland; an organisation designed to bring academics and energy industry figures together in an attempt to overcome the challenges faced in developing wave and tidal power technologies – an area which has so far proved harder to crack than wind power, but with potentially enormous benefits. The project, based in Orkney, will specifically look at sharing technological knowledge with the existing offshore oil, gas and construction sectors, using knowledge gained in the exploitation of the old resources to harness new energy sources.
Funding for the MREDS has come from HIE Orkney and Orkney Islands Council, as well as a £1 million grant from the Scottish Funding Council. Orkney Islands Council chairman, Ian Johnstone says that MREDS would play a key role in the future development of Scotland's renewable energy market; 'By addressing potential barriers at this stage it will provide invaluable support for this important new industry', he said. 'Orkney is the perfect location and we expect there to be significant spin-offs of major benefit to the economy of the islands.'
Also based in Orkney is another exciting renewable energy project – the European Marine Energy Centre. The EMEC was established to help the evolution of marine energy devices from the prototype stage into the commercial market place, and it is at the forefront of the development of marine-based renewables – technologies that generate electricity for homes and businesses by harnessing the power of waves and tidal streams. Based at Stromness it is the first centre of its kind to be created anywhere in the world, and offers developers the opportunity to test full-scale prototype devices in unrivalled wave and tidal conditions. Wave and tidal energy converters are connected to the National Grid via seabed cables running from open-water test berths. Testing takes place in a wide range of sea and weather conditions, with comprehensive round-the-clock monitoring.
The importance of the EMEC to Scotland's burgeoning sustainable energy market was stressed at this month's Scottish Renewables Green Energy Awards. At the ceremony, held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, the EMEC scooped the prize for Best Renewable Innovation. Chairman, Neil Kermode said, 'We're delighted to have won such a prestigious award. It provides further validation of the leading role we have to play in this vitally important new energy sector.' His views were echoed by Jason Ormiston who said 'Scotland's coastline stretches for hundreds of miles and offers huge potential for the marine energy industry. The EMEC facility is the next step that will enable Scotland to become a world leader in wave and tidal technology.'
And Scotland's timing couldn't be better. 2008 is International Year of Planet Earth. Declared by the 60th United Nations General Assembly, activities will actually span the three years from 2007-2009 and aims to raise £10 million from industry and governments to spend on co-funding research and "outreach" activities. It will be the biggest international effort in history to promote the Earth sciences.
The project – which has become known simply as 'The Year' – also aims to target politicians in an attempt to make them better informed about how scientific knowledge can be used for sustainable development and is backed politically by 97 countries representing 87% of the world's population. The Year also broadly aims to 'increase awareness of the importance of Earth sciences in achieving sustainable development and promoting local, national, regional and international action . . . to discover new natural resources and make them available in a sustainable manner' and to 'increase interest in the Earth sciences in society at large and encourage more young people to study Earth science in university'.
And it's not just on a global scale that an impact can be made on renewable energy challenges. Closer to home, VisitScotland is looking to make Scotland one of the world's first carbon-neutral holiday destinations by providing eco friendly ratings to accommodation and other ideas to make your annual holiday more environmentally friendly. Rufflets Country House Hotel in St. Andrews recently became Scotland's first official carbon neutral hotel. The Fife-based luxury hotel uses rainwater to flush its toilets and invests in green projects like the reforestation of the Scottish Borders. It also makes a point of reducing its carbon footprint by favouring locally-sourced produce for its dining room. It's a policy increasingly echoed at other Scottish hotels, like the Lovat Arms on the banks of Loch Ness, where an environmentally-friendly biomass wood chip burner is used for all the hotel's heating and hot water requirements.
A family holiday in Scotland – staying in hotels like these and travelling by car – would produce 0.24 tonnes of CO2 (please make 2 subscript/small). (Travelling by train would lower this figure even further of course.) A trip to Spain by plane for the same family would, on the other hand, create a whopping 1.68 tonnes of CO2! (please make 2 subscript/small).
So, while the scientists grapple with new ways of extracting energy from miles of coastal waters, we can help by leaving our passports at home next summer and taking a tour round some of Scotland's eco-friendly hotels and tourist attractions. After all, we have nothing to lose but our suntans!
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