Tag: energy

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SNP actions on destitution such as Scottish Child Payment reduce it to lowest level in UK

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From Ending Destitution Together: Phase Two Delivery Plan, published yesterday: What is destitution? Destitution should be unthinkable in a modern Scotland. However, it remains a daily reality for many people who have moved here to work, study, join family, or seek sanctuary from violence and persecution. Nobody should be forced into destitution. People who are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition are members of our communities and we should be able to support them at times of crisis. The Ending … Continue reading SNP actions on destitution such as Scottish Child Payment reduce it to lowest level in UK

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New Chinese deal at Ardersier more likely to go ahead but create few jobs

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___________________________________________________________ Help Talking-up Scotland keep going. Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 ___________________________________________________________ Thanks to rtpscott for alerting us to this: In the P&J yesterday, the above and: The owner of Ardersier Port has struck a new deal with a Chinese company as the fallout from the UK Government blocking a £1.5 billion wind farm factory continues. Port owner and developer Haventus has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese offshore wind manufacturer Dajin. The partnership will see them explore opportunities across both the UK and European markets. It will look at combining Dajin’s … Continue reading New Chinese deal at Ardersier more likely to go ahead but create few jobs

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Data centres need huge amounts of water for cooling? Easily solved in Scotland, put them near-shore in any of our 31 460 lochs

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___________________________________________________________ Help Talking-up Scotland keep going. Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: MR JW ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 ___________________________________________________________ From the Scottish Greens a few days ago: Every proposed hyperscale data centre in Scotland must face a full environmental impact assessment, the Scottish Greens have said. The call follows the Scottish Government’s decision to require assessments for proposed developments in Edinburgh and at Auchtertool in Fife. Ministers have introduced a new requirement for councils to notify them about data centre applications exceeding 50 megawatts. However, there is still no requirement for environmental assessments to be conducted as standard across Scotland. This … Continue reading Data centres need huge amounts of water for cooling? Easily solved in Scotland, put them near-shore in any of our 31 460 lochs

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Scotland producing ‘only’ FIVE times as much gas as it consumes – how could we survive on our own?

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From the Guardian today: The penny is dropping in government. Britain, even in rapid energy transition mode, will still need a lot of gas in the years ahead – and needs to know how the gas will arrive. It could hardly be otherwise when there are 24m households with a gas connection, largely for heating, and the pace of heat pumps adoption is miserable. Last year gas comprised about a third of the UK’s overall energy needs. Though annual consumption is in decline, the days of peak use during a bleak midwinter can still be as high as ever. The … Continue reading Scotland producing ‘only’ FIVE times as much gas as it consumes – how could we survive on our own?

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Labour’s nuclear energy is being shut down right across Europe

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Thanks again to Frances for alerting us to this. From DW IN FOCUS, two days ago: Romania has shut down its only nuclear plant in a rare move prompted by the lack of cooling water from the Danube River. Hungary, meanwhile, is racing to dam the Danube, trying to keep its Paks plant online. Romania shut down its lone nuclear power plant on Thursday, a rare move amid the drought that has caused record lows on the Danube River and other major waterways in Europe.  The Danube is the sole source of cooling water for the Cernavoda plant, which usually generates around … Continue reading Labour’s nuclear energy is being shut down right across Europe

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And Now The News Where You Are

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 I’ve just been listening to the evening news, brought into our homes courtesy of STV Studios. The news anchor introduced a story telling us that the Scottish Government — or “the SNP”, as much of the media seems to prefer calling it these days — is going to miss its 2021 announced target of building 120,000 new affordable homes before 2032 by around 35,000 units. And, naturally, the Scottish Government was wheeled out to take the blame. But then came the interviews. Construction materials, we were told, rose dramatically between 2021 and 2023, largely because … Continue reading And Now The News Where You Are

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Six existing examples of Chinese investment in the UK to reveal the Ardesier denial in Scotland is deliberate de-industrialisation and economic civil war

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By Liz S So the UK Labour government vetoed the wind turbine factory in the Highlands by the Chinese firm Ming Yang Smart Energy citing “national and cyber security risks”. Yet there is already existing Chinese investment within the UK: Heathrow Airport: The Chinese state-owned sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), holds a 10% stake. Utilities: Hong Kong-based tycoon Li Ka-shing’s group owns UK Power Networks and a 75% stake in Northumbrian Water Group. CIC also holds minor stakes in National Grid’s gas distribution and Thames Water. Nuclear Power: China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) has been involved in the Hinkley Point C project and planned … Continue reading Six existing examples of Chinese investment in the UK to reveal the Ardesier denial in Scotland is deliberate de-industrialisation and economic civil war

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Most of the heavier crude oil from Rosebank will be sent to the Netherlands because only Grangemouth could refine it

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By Liz S “The new and upgraded high-voltage transmission infrastructure in Scotland (new pylons, higher-capacity overhead lines, substations, and related works) is primarily required to transmit surplus electricity across the border into England and the wider Great Britain system” Yes indeed, but it’s not just electricity as the BBC website has this article, dated 11 August 2026, on their website on the Scottish Politics page: “What is happening with the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields”? Included within this BBC article are the below statements of how, once again , the UK/Britain are again reliant on assets/resources sourced from Scotland , that are … Continue reading Most of the heavier crude oil from Rosebank will be sent to the Netherlands because only Grangemouth could refine it

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Three more French nuclear power stations shut down as jellyfish swarm cooling pipes will any Scottish reporter ask Scottish Labour how they plan to deal with this?

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Thanks, once more, to Frances McKie for alerting us to this and who comments: It keeps coming back to basic things like plumbing, blockages and corrosion…..at Dounreay, they never found a way to stop seaweed blocking their intake pipes…Here it’s jellyfish. From Reuters yesterday: Three reactors at ‌France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant were shut down late on Monday due to a massive swarm of jellyfish, triggering preventative measures put in place last year after the entire plant went offline, operator EDF said. The plant in northern France is one of the ​largest in the country and is cooled from a canal … Continue reading Three more French nuclear power stations shut down as jellyfish swarm cooling pipes will any Scottish reporter ask Scottish Labour how they plan to deal with this?

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New transmission infrastructure in Scotland is primarily required to transmit surplus electricity across the border into England and the wider Great Britain system

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to where it is consumed, mainly Central Scotland and England. BBC Scotland’s insert into BBC Breakfast makes the above explicit claim that new pylons and infrastructure are needed to ‘shift’ energy from the north to central Scotland. Notably the full BBC Scotland report online does not make the above claim. Another Reporting Scotland special? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rn42jp7d6o Is the claim, additional to their full online report, true? No. Why? In Scotland: Electricity consumption has declined substantially over the past two decades. Total consumption in Scotland was 21.7 TWh in 2024 — down 26.6% from the 2005–2007 baseline average of 29.3 TWh. Domestic … Continue reading New transmission infrastructure in Scotland is primarily required to transmit surplus electricity across the border into England and the wider Great Britain system