CHARGING TOWARDS A CLEANER FUTURE

AS the old, familiar power stations are demolished the landscape of Scotland is changing. Cockenzie no more, Longannet no more … and with Hunterston and Torness also scheduled for closure in the near future the country is already looking very different in the age of renewables.

And with good reason. Estimates vary but the consensus among scientists and now economists regarding the social and economic cost of carbon is that the damage done by carbon dioxide emissions will become critically detrimental by 2050 – unless we effect a fundamental behavioural change.

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Which is why Scotland is risen to the challenge, establishing itself as a world leader in tackling climate change and this special report highlights several of the innovations and advances in the crucial renewable energy sector.

These include Heriot-Watt University’s pioneering International Centre for Island Technology in Orkney which is supplying the sector with a pipeline of new skills and expertise while also in the north, we look at how the Highlands and Islands are quickly becoming world leaders in marine energy, harnessing the tidal flows and often awesome waves around our shores.

Our other great natural resource, wind power, is facing the challenge of the government’s withdrawal of its subsidy for the onshore sector, which though now an established and successful component of the renewables drive involves capital intensive projects with much of the costs borne upfront.

The thermal batteries developed by Sunamp in partnership with Edinburgh University batteries are bringing energy efficient heat to housing associations, while there is a now an enlightened, if somewhat belated, effort to develop more sustainable district heating schemes.

This report also highlights the Herald’s Climate for Change campaign, which will run in the newspaper, in the Herald Business HQ magazine and on our website – www.heraldscotland.com – over the coming year with the support of our initial partners, ScottishPower and SEPA.

The campaign will be refreshed by weekly articles in the Herald, with regular updates covering the latest news and topical issues in this sphere. While on a quarterly basis,The Herald Business HQ will expand on important current developments, with authoritative views from senior figures from the private and public sectors, highlighting how both are positively engaging with the challenge. Plus, importantly, there will be an online forum allowing the knowledge to flow in both directions and empowering you to contribute to a discussion that requires a high level of priority. With all the positive action, in Scotland and throughout the UK, climate change remains a major challenge and the UK is confronted with what has been referred to as an energy “trilemma” – the need to guarantee security of supply and keep costs affordable while achieving lower levels of CO2 – and storage technology needs to develop at a fast pace to help balance the grid and enable more renewables to be used.

Drawing attention to these and other key issues the All Energy 2018 Conference, the UK’s leading renewable energy and low carbon innovation event to be held at the SEC in Glasgow next week will host more than 450 speakers from the UK and overseas and representatives from sectors such as bioenergy, geothermal energy, energy storage, solar power, transport and smart and sustainable cities. This is an area of particular interest to Glasgow, building on its status, awarded in 2013, as the UK’s first “Future City”. It is also a lead partner in “Scotland’s 8th City – the Smart City” project for which the Scottish Cities Alliance secured European Regional Development Fund backing toward a £24m programme to co-design technology and data opportunities to further cities’ ambitions to become global high-tech hubs. Examples include smart meters within smart power grids to manage the energy systems in buildings more efficiently and LED lights activated by motion, reducing power consumption. ScottishPower’s new HQ, which opened in Glasgow last year, incorporates several smart energy reducing features. It employed the BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method, measuring sustainability in a series of categories ranging from energy to ecology. Filtered rainwater is used to flush the toilets, with passive infrared sensors for lighting and heat recovery. There are many inspiring examples of how individuals and organisations are tackling the challenge with enthusiasm and innovation and Climate for Change will report and discuss these, following the demanding targets that have been set and highlighting the ongoing achievements in a landscape of change.

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SPECIAL REPORT:

INSIDE

2. CLIMATE FOR CHANGE: THE HERALD’S NEW

CAMPAIGN . . .

3. PLANNING AHEAD: ENERGISING THE CONSENT PROCESS WILL GET NEW PROJECTS OFF THE GROUND

4.TIDE IS HIGH: SUCCESS STORIES AND A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FROM TIDAL ARRAYS IN THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS

6. HIGH WINDS AND LOW COSTS: THE CASE CONTINUES FOR DEVELOPING ONSHORE AS WELL AS OFFSHORE

8. ORKNEY’S LIVING LAB: ACADEMIA AND INSUSTRY ENJOY A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

9. RISING ON THE THERMALS: INNOVATIVE HEAT BATTERY STORAGE SYSTEMS THAT COULD REVOLUTIONISE HOMES AND INDUSTRY

10. COMMUNITY CHARGE: DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEM IN FIFE TAPS INTO BIOMASS POWER PLANT

11. PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES: THE BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’S PLANS TO EXPLOIT WATER IN ABANDONED COLLIERIES

12. GO WITH THE FLOW: GORBALS PROJECT SET TO UTILISE THE RIVER CLYDE