Energy

Energy resources of Scotland

Stephen Richard — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 11:47:58 +0000

Energy resources of Scotland Stephen Richard Mon, 10/18/2021 - 12:47

Author or Creator

Common Weal

Scotland is blessed with remarkable renewable energy resources but has cold winters, a lot of inefficient housing, a very high reliance on gas heating and a particular reliance on transport. We need to tackle all of these. The hardest is heating – there is simply no easy solution to weaning ourselves off natural gas. Alternatives which use the same infrastructure (like hydrogen) are very expensive and alternatives like electric heating (also comparatively expensive) would require enormous amounts of work to replace existing household heating systems and would require a very big investment in both more electricity generation and the electricity grid. There is no quick, easy way to do this and retrofitting renewable heating (like Heat Pumps) to most existing houses isn’t realistic. So if we’re going to have to make a massive investment, let’s get it right.

The first step is that we must make our houses much more efficient so we don’t need to heat them so much in the first place, so a major programme of insulating and draft-proofing houses is the first step. Then we need to put in place a heating system which will last for many generations, is clean and efficient and inexpensive for households. The best option is a ‘district heating’ system, where heat is generated in lots of different ways (all renewable), collected in a heat store and then distributed to houses as they need it via a network of pipes. Households just need to switch their existing boilers for heat exchangers and the rest of their heating system should work as is. Make no mistake, this is a truly immense engineering project, but so is anything that heats our homes without feeding a climate emergency.

Electricity is more straightforward in Scotland because of our renewable resources – but we’re going to need more of it. To meet future demand and produce enough spare energy to ensure energy security we will need to double the amount of currently-installed renewable generation and put a lot of energy storage in place. But that’s not enough because if we also want to move to clean transport we’ll need more electricity again – in total about three times what we currently have. Thankfully this can all be achieved with onshore and offshore wind in Scotland, leaving our marine energy resources for other purposes. And if we do it right we can take not only all this new energy into public ownership but the existing energy as well – so we control our own energy system.

Which leaves transport. This too is a massive task – we need to replace the entire fleet of petroleum-based transport. It is almost certain the way to do this is to move to electric battery-power for smaller vehicles like cars and vans and to hydrogen for big vehicles like lorries and ferries. But to achieve that we’ll also need all that extra electricity, a source of clean hydrogen and major investment in charging and refuelling infrastructure.

So where do we get our clean hydrogen from? This is where Scotland’s marine energy comes in. At the moment almost all commercial hydrogen produces carbon dioxide, not when it is used but when it is created in the first place by breaking down natural gas. Clean hydrogen is made with electricity and water – but it needs a lot of electricity. Thankfully Scotland has massive wave and tidal energy opportunities and these can be used to make hydrogen for vehicle transport. Even more than that, it can give Scotland a world lead in hydrogen technology and because we have much more marine energy than we need for domestic transport it is also potentially an amazing export opportunity.

Keywords

Can Scotland afford to go it alone?

Stephen Richard — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:54:59 +0000

Can Scotland afford to go it alone?

Primary Author or Creator

Ruth Strachan

Stephen Richard Wed, 09/29/2021 - 11:54

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Investment Monitor

Date Published

Thu, 05/06/2021 - 12:00

Category

Economy

Type of Resource

Article

Fast Facts

With every passing election, Scotland seems to move closer to independence. Investment Monitor explores the obstacles the country would face should it leave the UK.

Resource Address (URL)

https://investmentmonitor.ai/analysis/who-would-pay-the-bills-in-an-independent…

Keywords

Language English

Scotland has got what it takes to be an independent country

Stephen Richard — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:25:07 +0000

Scotland has got what it takes to be an independent country

Primary Author or Creator

Olaf Stando

Stephen Richard Wed, 09/29/2021 - 11:25

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Scottish National Party

Date Published

Sat, 11/28/2020 - 12:00

Alternative Published Date

2020

Category

Independence

Type of Resource

Political Party Paper

Fast Facts

Independence is about the right of people in Scotland to decide their own future

We’re the ideal size

Scotland is a wealthy nation with a big economy

We’re educated and talented

We have extraordinary energy resources

We export high quality produce and goods

We are at the cutting edge of the industries of the future

We’re big enough, rich enough and smart enough – even opponents of independence believe so

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.snp.org/scotland-has-got-what-it-takes/

Keywords

Language English

21 For 21: The Climate Change Actions Scotland Needs Now

Stephen Richard — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 20:50:44 +0000

21 For 21: The Climate Change Actions Scotland Needs Now

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Sun, 09/12/2021 - 21:50

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Energy Policy Group

Date Published

Mon, 08/09/2021 - 12:00

Category

Climate change

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

21 Policies that would enable Scotland to meet our responsibilities as laid out by the 2021 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

More details

The 21 actions we are calling for are as follows:

1. Build a Green New Deal
Scotland needs a comprehensive, coordinated plan which delivers major social benefits while tackling climate change

2. Start our own energy company
A National Energy Company will let us build and control the infrastructure Scotland needs to decarbonise

3. Plan our energy future
Setting up a Scottish Energy Development Agency enables us to plan the infrastructure we need in the public good

4. Build what we need in the right way
By establishing a National Infrastructure Company we can ensure that the infrastructure we need is built to the highest standard and owned by the public

5. Leave no-one without a warm house
A proper, coordinated plan of increasing energy efficiency for all homes without exception will help householders and reduce carbon

6. Capture waste heat and use it
If we introduce a Heat Supply Act it can require large producers of waste heat to capture and recycle that heat for public use

7. Future-proof the electricity grid
We must commit to long-term investment in local electricity grid reinforcement, management and energy storage to prepare for a secure, renewable energy future

8. Fair connection charges for Scotland’s power
Renewable energy production in Scotland pays a very high cost for feeding it into the grid – this is unjust and must be reformed

9. End coal, end nuclear
Scotland has bountiful renewable energy resources and has no need for dangerous and polluting fuels and energy technologies

10. No new oil
Scotland must ban new oil and gas exploration and set out a route map for phasing out all fossil fuels

11. Train a renewables workforce
To transition people from the fossil fuel and nuclear industries and prepare them for a renewable future we should set up a ‘one-stop shop’ for retraining

12. Back a green hydrogen road-map
Scotland needs clear guidance on how we develop and use Green Hydrogen so we can built this new industry as quickly and efficiently as possible

13. Make energy efficiency meaningful
The way we measure the thermal performance of buildings is riddled with problems so we must reform Energy Performance Certificates so they reflect reality

14. Measure the whole-life energy of houses
Include embodied energy (the energy needed to build a house, not just run it) in the next revision of the Building Standards

15. Energy-efficient appliances only
The energy rating of electrical appliances is about to be revised, so choose now to ban the sale of appliances with ratings below the new C level

16. Make localism work
Prioritising localism has enormous energy-saving benefits so make all neighbourhoods ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’

17. Set a legal right to homeworking
Homeworking saves energy and time, so while not everyone can or wants to home work and no-one should be forced, anyone who does should be given the right to do so

18. Fewer cruise ships
Cruise ships are environmentally damaging and don’t help the economy so Scotland should introduce a quota for cruise ships entering Scottish waters and ports

19. Explore a flights quota
There is no green alternative to the way we fly available so we must limit our flights with flight quotas, a moratorium on airport expansion and investment in airships

20. Divest from fossil fuel
Require all public sector bodies to commit to divesting from fossil fuels in the next year

21. Clean politics
End the influence fossil fuel lobbyists have over our politics by signing up to the Fossil Free Politics campaign

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/21-For-21.pdf

Keywords

Renewable manufacturing

Hydrogen

Energy efficient buildings

Homeworking

Language English

Resilient Scotland Part One

Stephen Richard — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 16:00:56 +0000

Resilient Scotland Part One

Primary Author or Creator

Common Weal

Stephen Richard Sun, 08/15/2021 - 17:00

Alternative Published Date

2021

Category

Economy

Banking

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

The borrowing cap for the Scottish Parliament should be removed or lifted substantially so public expenditure can be used where needed; but, more importantly the Scottish National Investment Bank should be given full dispensation to act as a bank and thus capitalise from sources such as pension funds and lend to the public as well as private sector. Public procurement should be entirely reprofiled with the public policy goal of supporting Scottish business and achieving the maximum number of manufacturing jobs.

More details

By using Resilience Economics we can replace an economic toolbox with few policy options which creates inequality, environmental harm and repeated economic crises with one based on a much more balanced set of economic theories which prioritise public-good outcomes and will result in a more stable economy. This can be made to work under devolution if we focus on unlocking Scotland’s economic underdevelopment and support this not with bailouts for existing businesses but transition packages linked to reprofiled public spending and sustainable investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank.

This is underpinned by a series of over-arching policy goals which explain what kind of economy we are seeking to achieve; replacing an unhealthy focus on GDP growth with these will make clear the kind of economic change Scotland is pursuing. Scotland is inordinately well positioned to achieve this because of the current underdevelopment of our copious natural and human resources.

To achieve this we must do the following: Set up a Transition Academy to help policy-makers adapt to the new agenda. Set up a Diversification Agency to support new and existing businesses to grasp the opportunities being unlocked. Create a guaranteed retraining programme for those who lose employment. Reprofile public procurement spending to support this transition Begin a major programme of public rental house-building linked to an integrated supply chain strategy. Create a mortgage-to-rent scheme for households at risk of losing their home. Introduce a tourism rescue package with all citizens being given a £100 voucher for a stay at a Scottish hotel Introduce a similar voucher scheme for the hospitality sector. Develop a form of Universal Basic Income for artists. Devise plans for a future Festival of Scotland to support the entertainment and events sector. Create an industrial strategy to unlock new economic activity in food production, materials manufacture, light manufacturing, housing, energy, hydrogen, land, design and innovation.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Resilient-Scotland-Part-One…

Keywords

Scottish National Investment Bank

Re-training

Housing

Rental Housing