Energy resources of Scotland

To meet future demand and ensure energy security we will need to double the amount of currently-installed renewable generation.  It will also need a lot of energy storage. We have much more marine energy to generate hydrogen than we need for domestic and heavy goods transport. These resources are potentially an amazing export opportunity.

Pioneering North Sea renewables project unveiled at COP 26

Offshore wind resources in the North Sea will create thousands of jobs and boost Scotland ‘s ambitions to be a world leader in renewable energy through a plan unveiled at COP 26 in Glasgow.

Type of Resource
Article
Primary Author or Creator
Believe in Scotland

Scottish independence: could wind power Scotland back into the EU?

Scotland’s competitive advantage in green energy ought to be an important part of the economic case for independence when the second referendum takes place.

Type of Resource
News Media
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Piotr Marek Jaworski
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Kenny Crossan, The Conversation

Energy-food nexus in the marine environment: A macroeconomic analysis on offshore wind energy and seafood production in Scotland

Low-cost offshore wind farms (OWFs) would increase both energy security and GDP.

Subsidising the high-cost OWFs would benefit energy security but not the economy.

Limited negative impacts on seafood sectors by the OWF expansion were identified .

Type of Resource
Academic Paper
Primary Author or Creator
Yang Qu
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Tara Hoopera, J. Kim Swales, Eleni Papathanasopoulou, Melanie C. Austen, Xiaoyu Yan

Get the future of energy right

Energy – electricity, heating and transport fuel – is crucial for the modern Scotland we live in. But it can also be one of our biggest threats if we don’t get them right. It can harm our environment and play a major role in causing the climate crisis.  ‘Energy inequality’ can harm the health of those who can’t afford to heat their homes. Scotland is one of the few countries in Europe which does not own its energy publicly and the only one that doesn’t  own its own National Grid. 

Video 1:35 minutes

Type of Resource
Video
Primary Author or Creator
Common Weal

Incentives and Opportunities Signalled by Transmission Charges in Scotland

Scotland is not well served by the UK’s National Grid and the current system restricts the development of Scotland’s renewable energy potential and leads to high charges for Scottish consumers.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Iain Wright
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Common Weal

Energy Strategy Consultation: Common Weal submission

This paper

― Recognises the huge economic contribution North Sea Oil and Gas have made to the Scottish economy

― Urges the Scottish Government to add a “just and fair transition” of jobs to the low carbon economy as a priority, and to seek alternative sectors using the skills base and domestic supply chains we have. Alternative sectors are likely to include offshore renewable generation and on-land infrastructure (e.g. district heating, for which we currently import the pipework) as well as decommissioning mature oil wells.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Primary Author or Creator
Susan Brush
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Iain Wright, Gordon Morgan, Common Weal

Renewables Scotland 2030: A discussion paper on how to transform Scotland’s energy sector by 2030

― UK energy policy since 1980 has failed Scotland. It has led to the six largest energy companies seeing profit margins rise 4.48% since 2016, with 34.9% of households in Scotland currently facing fuel poverty.

― The Scottish Government should invest in energy infrastructure and electric vehicles to meet 75% of overall energy demand by 2030.

Energy Infrastructure

― Scotland has only captured 0.06% of marine energy potential. The Scottish Government should boost R&D in wave and tidal technology, with an aim to capture 25% of marine energy resource by 2030.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Primary Author or Creator
Craig Berry
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Common Weal

Feed-In Tariffs Scheme: Common Weal Consultation Response

― Common Weal strongly disagrees with the proposal to end export and generation tariffs for renewable energy on 31st March 2019.

― Doing so will be irrevocably harmful to the renewable industry with the solar industry likely to be badly affected.

― It will slow progress on carbon emission reduction, particularly in England.

― Eliminating the tariffs will not significantly reduce energy costs for consumers who don’t directly benefit from them – research has shown they only contribute to bills by approximately £1 per household per year.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Gordon Morgan
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Common Weal

Scottish Offshore Wind. Strategic Investment Assessment.

This independent report to the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council gives:

Type of Resource
Assessment report
Primary Author or Creator
Maf Smith
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Joss Blamire, Rob Spice, Louise Wheeler, Tom Quinn, Gavin Smart

CARBON-FREE, POVERTY-FREE: HEATING OPTIONS FOR RURAL SCOTLAND

Fuel poverty is not only worse in rural Scotland than in urban Scotland, it also has different characteristics. For example, in urban areas 92% of those classified as income-poor are not classified as fuel-poor while in rural areas only 8% of those classified as income poor are not also fuel poor – fuel poverty plays a much larger role in rural poverty than in urban poverty.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Ron Mould, Craig Dalzell, Jonathan Shafi
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Glasgow Caledonian University, Common Weal

Just Warmth: Developing equitable and Sustainable District Heating Systems in Scotland

Scotland heats the majority of its homes and buildings in inefficient and deleterious efforts to become a net zero-carbon nation. Much more effective than individual boilers would be a system of District Heating Systems (DHS). These DHS networks could be supplied with a variety of sources such as biomass, solar thermal or industrial waste heat.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Keith Baker, Ron Mould
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Common Weal

Powering our Ambitions: the Role of Scotland's National Energy Company and the Case for a Scottish Energy Evelopment Agency

A call for the Scottish Government to launch a National Energy Company and a Scottish Energy Development Agency.  These bodies would work together to rapidly and strategically decarbonise Scotland’s energy network whilst also supporting community energy projects and developing the new skills and technologies Scotland – and the world – will need to face the challenges of climate change and fuel poverty.

Type of Resource
Policy Paper
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Keith Baker, Gordon Morgan, Ron Mould, Iain Wright
Additional Author(s) / Creators
Common Weal

Scotland is a Powerhouse of Renewable Energy

Scotland generates more renewable energy that it uses.   A 1:53 minute video.

Type of Resource
Video
Date Published
Primary Author or Creator
Scottish National Party