Tag: renewable-energy

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Scottish Labour’s nuclear energy policy shattered by latest estimate for one half-mile deep (!) waste storage facility costing nearly £70 BILLION 40 years after a Scottish Labour council rejected the idea

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Frances McKie, once more, for this alert. When I arrived in Ayr in 1984 and began hillwalking in the nearby hills, I heard of the local community’s recent campaign of resistance to plans to bury nuclear waste under the granite 2 270ft mountain, Mullwharchar, 30 miles away but visible from the town,  in the Dungeon Hills, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range. From No2NuclearPower: The first planning application was made in January 1978 to Kyle and Carrick District Council (South-west Scotland) by the UKAEA to test drill on Mullwharchar Hill near Loch Doon on the border … Continue reading Scottish Labour’s nuclear energy policy shattered by latest estimate for one half-mile deep (!) waste storage facility costing nearly £70 BILLION 40 years after a Scottish Labour council rejected the idea

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Fuel poverty – in Scotland, it need not be this way.

johnrobertson834

Will it be food in the house? Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland in their BBC Breakfast insert have the above story minus of course the hugely significant consideration that, in Scotland, it need not be this way. In August 2025, we had the information. As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us and why Scots would pay far less after independence As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Scots would pay far less once independent. From stewartb in June 2025: I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA … Continue reading Fuel poverty – in Scotland, it need not be this way.

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As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us and why Scots would pay far less after independence

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Scots would pay far less once independent. From stewartb in June 2025: 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 … Continue reading As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us and why Scots would pay far less after independence

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So, we’ve to pay more for electricity pylons and cables to ‘shift’ the ‘excess’ electricity we don’t need, over the border, because you will have produced 10 times what we need in our waters?

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In BBC Scotland TV reports this morning and on their website, the above headline and a report based on an interview with Scottish Power Energy Networks‘ chief executive Nicola Connelly. Her thinking is entirely, but I think unconsciously, based on the unquestionable nature of the Union. It’s by no means propagandistic as she makes no case for the Union, just takes it for granted and so, for the discriminating reader, like you, it offers a shocking insight into just how exploitative and pointless that union is for Scotland. First: A £34bn investment in Scotland’s electricity network … Continue reading So, we’ve to pay more for electricity pylons and cables to ‘shift’ the ‘excess’ electricity we don’t need, over the border, because you will have produced 10 times what we need in our waters?

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Supplying the UK with oil & gas from offshore Scotland or from imports? For the British Labour Party government there is “not a material difference” – apparently!

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By stewartb The head of trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) was moved to write (July 4) in the specialist news website, Energy Voice in order to rebut a Westminster government minister’s evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee of the Commons. The Committee was taking oral evidence from Michael Shanks MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Energy) at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Source: Energy Voice, ’Let’s be clear about the value of the North Sea – Offshore Energies UK boss responds to minister’s claims there’s no difference between oil and gas imports and domestic … Continue reading Supplying the UK with oil & gas from offshore Scotland or from imports? For the British Labour Party government there is “not a material difference” – apparently!

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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?

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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?

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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?

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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?

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

johnrobertson834

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

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

johnrobertson834

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?

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Do we need nuclear or Brian Wilson? Nope!

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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!