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

Stephen Richard — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:56:26 +0000

Primary Author or Creator

Yang Qu

Stephen Richard Mon, 09/27/2021 - 11:56

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Tara Hoopera, J. Kim Swales, Eleni Papathanasopoulou, Melanie C. Austen, Xiaoyu Yan

Alternative Published Date

February 2021

Category

Energy

Food production

Type of Resource

Academic Paper

Fast Facts

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 .

More details

The rapid development of offshore wind farms (OWFs) has stimulated debate about its overall socioeconomic impacts. Expanding the scale of OWFs increases the availability and affordability of electricity but could displace existing fishing activities and reduce food supply. To evaluate these impacts from a macroeconomic perspective, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is developed, using Scotland as a case study. A particular focus is placed on the disaggregated electricity and seafood sectors, their interconnectedness from an energy-food nexus perspective, and the distributional effects across household groups. This paper explores, from macroeconomic perspective, the trade-offs in the energy-food nexus between expanding OWFs and the seafood sectors, together with the impacts on food and energy security. The results suggest that, through economic linkages, increasing the number of OWFs would have a negative, but limited, effect on seafood production sectors. However, the falling cost of electricity from OWFs would have a positive impact on the economy overall and benefit lower income households, contributing to a reduction in fuel poverty. The model results raise the awareness of nexus linkages between OWFs and seafood production and are applicable to policies involving the development of other offshore renewables.

Energy Policy Volume 149, February 2021, 112027 Paywall

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421520307382

Keywords

Offshore wind

Renewable Energy

Food production

Language English

Scottish Offshore Wind. Strategic Investment Assessment.

Stephen Richard — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 19:51:47 +0000

Scottish Offshore Wind. Strategic Investment Assessment.

Primary Author or Creator

Maf Smith

Stephen Richard Fri, 08/20/2021 - 20:51

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Joss Blamire, Rob Spice, Louise Wheeler, Tom Quinn, Gavin Smart

Alternative Published Date

August 2021

Category

Energy

Type of Resource

Assessment report

Fast Facts

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

• A summary of the status of the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland
• A Map of future deployment and consideration of the current status of the offshore
wind supply chain in Scotland, determining the supply chain and technology
barriers and opportunities both domestically and globally, which provide longevity
to the industry in Scotland
• Scenarios of potential economic impact associated with varying levels of
investment
• Recommendations for immediate action through investment, including detailing
means to support investor confidence, to support the industry in Scotland and to
maximise economic value.

More details

Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation One: The offshore wind sector’s priority must be the establishment of
a collaboration framework focused on building confidence amongst Scottish ports, so that
required investment is brought forward in time. The immediate priority of such a
collaborative framework is supporting the creation of a Scottish Floating Offshore Wind
Port Cluster.

Recommendation Two: Support Scottish suppliers and get them ready to bid for and win
work
The working of the CfD process creates built in advantages for market incumbents so can
make it hard for new entrants to break into the market. To address this specific support is
needed to support Scottish suppliers get ready to bid for work. The offshore wind industry
can help this by taking responsibility for opening up contracting activity, and in particular
ensuring tier one contractors work with the Scottish supply chain. Government can help
Scottish-based EPCI expertise in oil and gas transition into offshore wind.

Recommendation Three: Celebrate and sell Scottish success
If Scotland is to attract investment to build a successful Scottish Floating Offshore Wind
Port Cluster, there is a need to better tell the story and build up Scotland’s reputation for
high quality engineering and sub-sea expertise. Scotland needs to be active selling
Scotland as a leading floating wind market and as a market that can support other global
markets as they embark on energy transition.

Recommendation Four: Plan for future growth and the next generation of innovations
While offshore wind is a mature technology, the market is still evolving and needs to
innovate to stay competitive. However, more needs to be done to think more clearly about
how the market in Scotland supports innovation in offshore wind and across the different stages of technology readiness. More support and focus are needed to allow near-commercial technologies to grow and succeed.

Recommendation Five: Plan for energy transition and a future of far-from-shore, mixed-
use energy projects

Resource Address (URL)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzGzej-SciagprIaPMrl8DqVl5KTF_Ar/view

Keywords

Renewable Energy

Offshore wind

Ports

Renewable manufacturing

Language English