Today in the Herald:
Never mind doubling the UK’s electricity storage capacity. There are around 2.7 million homes in Scotland. Perhaps, after independence, we might sell the extra supply to homes in the North of England?
Sources:
No more windless day anxiety – Scotland to have guaranteed stored renewables electricity back up for every home and more in one location
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The windless day is an old canard by the coal, oil and gas lobby. I first heard it c1965, when at school and preparing for my Highers. The Physics Department had arranged a regular series of lectures from the ‘new’ University of Strathclyde about energy generation. We heard about wave energy, tidal energy, on shore wind energy, off shore wind energy amongst others. All were feasible even with the technologies of the time. They were not proceeded with because of opposition by oil and gas companies, the nuclear industry by nationalised industries like the Coal Board and nationalised energy companies like Scottish Gas and SSEB and the trade unions for employees.
Despite the fact that the renewables technologies had been demonstrated, the opponents, Trump-like, insisted that they were not. Secondly, they restricted renewables to wind generation only and claimed the problem was that ‘the wind does not always blow’. When it was pointed out that Scotland has a huge coast line, has a lot of high land and most of the UK’s territorial waters where there is always wind somewhere, the opponents either persisted with the ‘windless day’ myth or insisted that even if there was some wind, ‘there is not enough’.
From the 1930s, Scotland has had hydro energy and also had ‘pumped storage’. This was dismissed as ‘not feasible for Glasgow’s or Edinburgh’s demand. And, in any case pumped storage was ‘too expensive’.
Such lies have prevented Scotland fulfilling its huge economic potential.
Alasdair Macdonald.
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There is a lot of opposition to what is perceived as industrialisation of the Highlands due to renewable energy projects.
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There already is an excess, but nowhere for it to go (south) due to grid constraints and no interconnects to Europe, hence wind generators being switched off – I’d be intrigued to know the extent of it.
Do bear in mind however that were SG to accelerate their existing home insulation campaign, that excess capacity would be even greater – I may have bored folks stupid over my own conservation project, but I’ve proven 75-80% reduction is perfectly possible even on a 10 year old house.
The Tories (predominantly but not exclusively) saw storage as bad investment, the ‘you can always buy from the market when you need it’ philosophy that served us so well in the pandemic and the energy crisis. 🙄 (HMG had refused to fund repairs to maintain existing Gas storage)
However, Coire Glas may well prove to be the last of it’s kind as EV takeup continues to increase – Vehicle to grid has opened up a whole world of possibilities – Even were 20 of the 43 million vehicles in the UK to switch to EVs, that’s massive storage capacity…
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There is a reason there are no interconnectors from Europe directly into Scotland – colonial rule. The English need to ensure Scotland cannot sustain itself like any other country through co-ooperation. It must be at their hand to grant or deny a resource.
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Part true – It’s not ” to ensure Scotland cannot sustain itself like any other country through co-ooperation ” rather than HMG ensuring they retain monopoly of control, that they remain the gatekeepers of this mysterious grid which is by inference somewhere in England….
This excellent map in a more recent article by John demonstrates the point rather nicely https://i0.wp.com/talkingupscotlandtwo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-79.png?resize=1000%2C768&ssl=1
Note the “NSL” in blue going from Norway to Blyth, which gazumped the Norway-Peterhead (NorthConnect) interconnect as it was in the final stages leading to construction – Interestingly if you look up “NorthConnect” on Wikipedia, doubtless inserted by the arseholes covering their ample Tory arses, the opening line is “Not to be confused with North Sea Link”… 🙄.
This is the bitter irony of London politics – They would rather play political and financial games at penalty to their own populace north and west of the Watford Gap…
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When Scotland becomes independent I would be lobbying for a total ban on energy exports to England. I would also be pushing to make it clear the motive is vengence. I want to see the population of that fkg country freezing in the dark by way of retrobution for all the shit we have had to put up with from that pestilent second rate cancer of a nation.
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EV storage doesnt help heat your home though does it , why should Scottish people have cold homes whilst at the same time sending energy from Scotland to power cars sitting in car parks and drives in england
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It might have been helpful if you had realised before writing that why ” vehicle ” TO ” grid ” is in that particular word sequence – It’s no different to Coire Glas aside from the storage being dispersed across thousands if not millions of vehicles… 😉
It’s not a theory, it’s already working, albeit with low numbers at present….
By far the biggest obstacle we have to overcome is reducing home heat losses and force Westminster to stop blocking a national insulation initiative – SG are doing their best with limited funds as part of the heat-pumps initiative, but it will take forever at the current rate.
My bill for heating last year was 382 quid, next year it should be 275 despite the expected -16 winter – It can be done…
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Scotland has its lifeblood sucked out of it by england obsession with privatisation its not just our wind wave water power they steal , look at our two main airports if you ever use them you will like me wonder why they are a mess inefficient falling to bits its because they are bought and sold regularly by so called global infrastructure investment companies these companies own lots of other companies who also own other companies most are overseas , edinburgh airport used to be owned by ferovial a spanish company who sold it once they had sucked as much profit out and laden it with debt then GIP based in asia did the same before selling to blackrock usa who own vinci france who blackrock say now own edinburgh airport they like the rest will suck out any profit and invest zero and we suffer a dreadful dilapidated airport , glasgow airport not much better it is owned by macquarie australia who own ferovial spain who used to own edinburgh airport til they sold it who own ags based in yorkshire , macquarie own thames water yes that company who set up a thames water sister company to take the incoming money from people paying their water bills and pay it to shareholders whilst ladelling the main thames water with loan debt now about 15billion quid which they do on the basis that banks treat the infrastructure of thames water and of course the guarantee of people paying their water and sewage bills as collateral for these loans, ahhh yes the sweet sick smell of privatisation , private business that has made the few multi millionaires whilst reducing our essential services to crap that we hate but are helpless to change, government ? what government ? we dont have government we have conniving shysters who are on the take.
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