Renewable energy: should maximising electricity from offshore wind be a priority for Scotland in Union given surplus ‘exported’ to England is not a true export?

By stewartb The headline question is of current relevance as the Scottish Government initiated a public consultation on June 13 (closing August 13) to inform the updating of policy on offshore wind energy. Here are the consultation questions: ‘1) Does “up to 40GW of new offshore wind by 2035-2040” demonstrate an appropriate level of ambition for the Scottish Government?’ ‘2) What additional actions do you believe should be taken by the Scottish Government, UK Government and agencies in order to realise the full potential of Scotland’s offshore wind sector?’ Source: Scottish Government (June 18, 2025) Offshore wind policy statement 2020 … Continue reading Renewable energy: should maximising electricity from offshore wind be a priority for Scotland in Union given surplus ‘exported’ to England is not a true export?

It may be ‘one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe’ but does Scotland in Union have the agency to VALORISE its high value resource?

By stewartb – a long read In what follows, we report credible UK sources stating that Scotland has ‘vast natural resources’; has ‘one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe’ off its east coast; through just one offshore transmission cable, Scotland has already supplied from surplus enough electricity to ‘power all the homes in Wales’ over a five year period; with five more offshore cables due to be laid with capacity to transmit enough electricity from Scotland to power another 10 million homes (for sources see below).  Given all this, will the economy of energy-rich Scotland in Union … Continue reading It may be ‘one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe’ but does Scotland in Union have the agency to VALORISE its high value resource?

Renewables not nuclear fully confirmed in every detail as the intelligent choice for Scotland by two expert impartial sources

By stewartb I asked both ChatGPT and Grok the following question: ‘Given its actual and potential ability to generate green electricity from onshore wind, offshore wind and tidal power, should Scotland invest in more battery storage and reliable sources like tidal energy or in nuclear generation, mindful of cost and legacy of nuclear waste? ChatGPT concluded: ‘Scotland should prioritize investment in offshore wind, tidal energy, and battery storage. These technologies have the potential to provide a more reliable, clean, and cost-effective energy system while minimizing long-term environmental and financial risks. Nuclear energy could remain a small part of the overall … Continue reading Renewables not nuclear fully confirmed in every detail as the intelligent choice for Scotland by two expert impartial sources

Do Scots have little or no awareness of the scale of value of offshore oil and gas assets in the recent past or now?

By stewartb I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA of – (perhaps even conditioned to have no interest in?) – Scotland’s indigenous energy assets and their potential significance for their own lives and those of their children and grandchildren. Little or no awareness of the scale of value of offshore oil & gas assets in the recent past (and still remaining) – Scotland’s great missed opportunity of a generation – and the developing renewable electricity generation assets, their current and realisable potential value – the about to be great missed opportunity of another … Continue reading Do Scots have little or no awareness of the scale of value of offshore oil and gas assets in the recent past or now?

Do we need nuclear or Brian Wilson? Nope!

Bob Lamont and Mills James on yesterday’s Sizewell C announcement millsjames1949 With estimates of (up to ) £40 billion as the ( building ) cost of this one Nuclear Station ( with several Small Nuclear stations to follow ) plus the higher cost of electricity to the consumers to access this power …imagine using this money for : a) proper insulation of existing housing stock to reduce energy consumption b) installing solar panels in existing housing stock to offset energy use from the Grid c) installing heat pumps in existing housing stock to reduce energy consumption …. I know , … Continue reading Do we need nuclear or Brian Wilson? Nope!

LATEST – ‘Scotland and the largest underwater discovery IN HISTORY: The world has been searching for centuries’ but ‘our’ media prefers an imaginary cancer ‘timebomb’, youth violence, not paying to weld UK nuclear subs and parroting the PM, because the project was SNP Government-funded!

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks once more to Dottie for this dramatic alert. From The Diary 24, the above and: A green technology company out of Scotland has come up with an industrial solution for offshore hydrogen bunkering and electric charging. The Oasis Marine technology has massive implications as it makes it far easier for marine vessels to switch from emissions-producing diesel systems to green hydrogen if refueling infrastructure is easier to access. Oasis Marine’s initial product offerings involved small-scale mooring buoys, but it wasn’t long before the renewable energy company branched out into larger, more complex systems. Oasis Marine now … Continue reading LATEST – ‘Scotland and the largest underwater discovery IN HISTORY: The world has been searching for centuries’ but ‘our’ media prefers an imaginary cancer ‘timebomb’, youth violence, not paying to weld UK nuclear subs and parroting the PM, because the project was SNP Government-funded!

Mythbusting: “(Scotland’s) wind power is unreliable, inefficient and harmful to nature”

By JB From Europe’s largest renewable energy producer Statcraft  2nd April 2024: “Wind power is often characterised by incorrect, inaccurate and misleading claims.” Six stubborn myths about wind power 1. “Wind power takes up large areas of land.”  If you count the entire area around and between the turbines in a wind farm, there is no doubt that a wind farm is the energy source that requires the largest area of land per MWh produced, even if the direct impact on nature is small. However if the land where the wind turbines are located can be used at the same time … Continue reading Mythbusting: “(Scotland’s) wind power is unreliable, inefficient and harmful to nature”

They get the feast we get the crumbs, again – Labour’s GB energy projects ‘across the country….of England

By Liz S “Miliband said, “I’m not going to take a decision that is going to raise prices in some parts of the country. That is not what I’m going to do” Really ? Yet when he was interviewed by ITV in March of this year, where they reported that he said this (and he did , because he also tweeted this himself). ‘It’s going to make a difference to so many pupils and so many patients’ Ed Miliband says schools and hospitals will get ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ off their energy bills as they get new solar panels The plans … Continue reading They get the feast we get the crumbs, again – Labour’s GB energy projects ‘across the country….of England

Scotland second most likely to survive climate change?

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today, a report from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society making the above claim but apparently suggesting the Scottish Government’s ‘scrapping’ (changing) its 2030 climate change target is key. So, 0.06% of the world’s population and 0.01% of the land mass area and we are key to climate change? What’s the wider, bigger picture? Which countries are most likely to survive climate change? To assess which countries are best prepared for climate change, we used data from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. Its ND-Gain Index measures the vulnerability and ability of a country to … Continue reading Scotland second most likely to survive climate change?

Scottish Government call for closer energy links with Europe to cut bills is ignored by ‘Scottish’ media

Posted just after midnight, this morning, and so in plenty of time for consideration and publication, but there is none, the Scottish Government has called for closer energy links with Europe: The Scottish Government is calling for closer co-operation with Europe to help lower energy bills and boost investment. Ahead of upcoming UK Government talks with the EU the Scottish Government has published a report, identifying  a number of opportunities to more closely align with the European Union on energy matters. These include: Estimates from the UK energy industry predict that unless the UK moves toward closer cooperation with the EU … Continue reading Scottish Government call for closer energy links with Europe to cut bills is ignored by ‘Scottish’ media