Alex Salmond has been thrown an unexpected lifeline by the UK Government in his campaign to stop the National Grid imposing punitive charges which threaten the future development of renewable power by Scottish electricity companies.
A six-month consultation by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in London has concluded that connection charges should be levied evenly on all developers regardless of where they are located or the difficulty of connecting. If implemented, this policy would mean that remote sources of alternative energy — such as the Highlands — would not face the current high connection costs which threatened to make many of Scotland’s wind farms unviable.
The notion that you should pay extra to connect into the National Grid because you are further away from the main areas of usage is ridiculous. Scotland is self-sufficient in power and has a capacity to produce 25% of all Europe's renewable energy.
There's is a huge potential for this country in terms of employment and wealth in the renewables industry and this time we must not let it be plundered by our near neighbours. This opportunity must be exploited by Scots for Scots. If the 'National Grid' wants to discriminate against Scottish producers, fine. Just construct an UDERWATER CABLE to Europe and we'll export direct to the continent.
23 comments:
Hopefully this massive white elephant of pylons ( 20 buses high) crossing the most beautiful scenery in Europe will be scrapped.
It fits in with the SNP's belief in man made global warming ( scam -see here - eureferendum.com) and will blight our landscape with wind turbines and pylons. Wind turbines that will produce no electricity for large parts of the year.
If they must waste money on these pointless projects then at least bury the cables. This is what is done by law in Germany and The netherlands etc.
I agree that tidal power and hydro is a good thing but we should be able to use the profits we make from selling the power to bury the cables.
Jim Mather has been on tv twice now discussing this project and still can't tell us if the cables will be buried ( even for short parts like at Stirling castle ) Shame on him.
Salmond looks like the bullfrog that got the lilly pad in that picture.
Renewables ar fine as long as their output is reasonably constant and the cost of building, installation and maintenance is comparable with coal, gas and nuclear.
If not then to continue with them is nothing more than propagating the myth of AGW.
BTW, when will the enviro-nazis realise that by slowing down tides and wind owing to the operation of new and shiny toys to make electricity, the earth's rotation slows?
Oh imagine the trouble this tidbit of truth would cause....
Headson
There's a cunning plan though. 9,000 turbines in Germany when fully operational will lift up Germany by 2 metres thus saving the north of holland and germany from flooding due to a 2 metre sea rise.
It's all in the calculations.
Also spending $100Bn on green energy will reduce CO2 emissions by 2% by 2050. This was the statement by the Copenhagen chairman at the end of the Copenhagen conference. The fact that they can't tell the weather next week is neither here nor there.
Elephant, I would like to see the cable buried as well, but if this ius not possible then run it down the current cable route, i.e. along the A9. I don't think that the SNP are totally in to Global Warming it is more that they see the renwables industry as a second oil srtike for Scotland particularly tidal power from the Pentland Firth.
Headson, your info about the earth's rotations slowing is news to me. Where did you hear about this?
Elephant 2, I can't believe that 9000 turbines will lift Germany by 2 metres. Someone's pulling your dinger. I've heard some conspiracy theries in my time but that's a cracker. AGW or not if there is money to be made from renewables then we should be doing it. Full stop.
Wind turbines are a chocolate fire-guard , as well you know , DL .
What about Salmond growing a pair and building some new nuclear stations ?
No . Won't happen as his party activists are a shower of sandal-wearing beardies (Christine Grahame) and want us all to return to the Neolithic period .
Heck strathturret is guest posting on subrosas blog. Now we're really fucked. People like him think that two windmills turning at Douglas means the world is saved. ( turbines stationary for 2 months apart from being mechanically turned to prevent them from seizing up in the same position)
God help us.
Oli, I believe they may not be the most cost effective way to produce power but I believe wave power is cheaper. If it creats jobs and infrastructure in Scotland, I reeally don't care. You are a Unionist, so therefrore I don't expect you to agree with anything the SNP propose, but even yoiu must be embarrassed at the Unionist media in this country.
Elephant, I read his post, (which was too long and complicated IMO). Who is he, I don't think I have come across him before.
DL
He's a rare breed of dundonian.
He actually believes in the global warming agenda. Despite the fact that 2 windmills in Dundee produce the square root of fuck all he thinks it will save the planet ( 2 lorries at the local traffic lights for 3 minutes will cancel out the co2 saving for one year )
He can write wads of stuff that means fuck all to anyone with a life.
Total cock who blocks debate on blogs.
Even Terry Fuckwit Wogan over at The Telegraoh knows that man made global warming is lies and bollocks.
DL
When I read this in murdoch's rag yesterday "I smelled a Rat" can't put my finger on it but Ireckon there is a legal position here that Big Eck has threatened them with! Just a hunch but enough wonder what the truth of this is?
CD
Elephant, first time I've come across him, but if Rosie is hosting him, he's maybe be a mate of her's as she is from Dundee as well. These warming fuckers are a right bore. As I've said previously, it means fuck all to me as my line finishes with me. A bit selfish I admit but there you go. If however the 'new' renewables industry helps bring jobs and infrastructure to Scotland, great, as long as we don't let England nick it as they did with the oil.
Daisy, there have been two or three power companies threatening to sue so maybe that has concentrated the minds of the civil servants who came changed the Government's mind. Either way it doesn't really matter as we have 25% of renewables in Europe so it is obviously going to be an important industry and presumably something which will not run out in FIVE HUNDRED YEARS like the oil!
The way I see it (and I'd welcome millions in research funding to find out!) is that tides are caused by the gravitational effect on the seas by the sun and moon as well as the earth's rotation (friction).
Slow down the tides with barrages across the planet and this will have an effect. Similarly there could also be an effect on the bulge in the earth's crust which is affected by the gravitational effect of the sun and moon - this will be covered by a more shallow amount of sea owing to the tides not being able to reach it as quickly as it used to.
Add in to this the effect (unknown) of slowing down air currents by the increasing use of wind turbines and you will get some sort of reaction somewhere.
As I said, it will take money to find out but it will be there.
Just food for thought - every action has an opposite and equal - well, you know the rest except that instead of fannying around with what the earth is made of (coal and oil), we will be fiddling with things far more fundamental.
Hopefully some environmentalist somewhere will now have a sleepless night or two :)
Headson, I don't think I've had to tell you this before but I now believe you are mature enough on this site. You are talking pish! If indeed we were stopping the entire flow of an ocean then I would have to agree, but I think a few wave machines in the Pentland Firth is not going to mean the end of life as we know it. I hope!
Headson's worries about the effect on the earth's rotations by barrages are totally unfounded.
There may be localised effects on currents, but it's precisely these powers and the manipulation of them that make tidal flow generation attractive.
The pylon scheme from Beauly is a cheap-jack solution and the recent announcments on windfarms is another, both are dressed with the spin of knee jerk reaction.
Scotland needs to lay claim to this resource and the development of engineering know how to exploit it.
This will take billions to fund and many years to properly asses. In the meantime the sensible approach is to keep nuclear out(unless they solve the problems associated with fission) maintain or renew a few of the steam/gas generated conventional stations in order to maintain base load, while investing in the development of renewables.
Doubtful statistics allied to arbitrary time spans mean nothing other than political waffle.
Crinkers. Welcome. Are you sure you have landed on the right blog? You appear to be talking sense with some degree of what seems to be expertise!
. That is the point that I have obviously unsuccessfully been trying to make. It is immaterial whether Global Warming is happening or not, we still have to generate power and if Scotland has the natural resources and can profit as a country from it, in the words of the fragrant Wendy, BRING IT ON!
Please visit again, as this blog needs someone who knows what they are talking about! :-)
Here he is defending Fred the Shred
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=22403989&postID=4945637395185739737
Elefanto, I've got to say I agree with him on this one. When Goodwin left RBS there were 270 people earned more than him! I remember blogging about it at the time. I say, good luck to him. Other people gave him the money and the lucrative contract, not his fault. Would you hand it back? I know I wouldn't. I'd give it away first.
I'll agree with the SNP when it talks sense , DL .Its hatred of nuclear power makes no sense whatsoever .
Furthermore the stationary wind turbines currently disfiguring my fair county don't appear to have created a vast number of jobs (or indeed any) for the unemployed steel-workers of Motherwell and Wishae .
"The fragrant Wendy...."
You've taken that far too far !
Renewables should be used to provide heat to existing power stations to raise the same amount of steam without burning anything at all
Andrew, Welcome. You make a very good suggestion which i had not thought of before. Is that all that feasable?
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