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Land management has a significant role to play
in helping to meet UK Government and Scottish
Executive targets, not only for carbon saving
but for security of energy supply and
sustainable development.
Scotland has some of the best renewable
resources in the world, in the form of wind,
water, wave and tidal resources, as well as
great potential from biomass. With the challenge
of climate change, and the importance of
ensuring that there are sufficient future
supplies to meet energy needs, renewable energy
represents an opportunity for Scotland to meet
its future energy needs from clean, safe and
reliable sources, while creating new skilled
employment. Consideration also needs to be given
to how Scotland can do more to reduce the impact
of heating and transport fuels.
Biomass and biofuels (carbon neutral as long as
material is burnt locally) have an important
role to play, and in the longer term, hydrogen
(generated from renewables such as wind, wave
and tidal) will also be important. Scotland
currently generates some 10% of its electricity
from renewables – mainly large hydro projects
built in the 1950s and 1960s in rural Scotland.
These projects are still operating today.
Current interest and activity is focused almost
exclusively on wind power and wind farms. There
are a substantial number of wind energy projects
now in the Scottish planning system, and wind
could provide up to 20% of Scotland’s
electricity needs (source: Scottish Renewables –
the Forum for Scotland’s Renewable Energy
Industry).
At the same time, much is still expected |
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from wave and tidal power generation. However,
this industry still has a long way to go to
prove itself, and the first generation of wave
and tidal projects will receive substantial
government help. This support could be seen as
an investment in building a new industry in
Scotland and helping solve the problem of how to
capture the energy from the seas
cost-effectively.
What is clear is that there are trade-offs to be
made with each and every technology: each form
of renewable energy carries its own strengths
and weaknesses. Therefore, the future of
successful renewable energy generation will
almost inevitably rely on a balanced mix of
technology.
Difficult decisions need to be made taking
account of competing environmental concerns,
while developing that balanced mix of
technologies to meet all energy needs and
provide valuable employment. This must emphasise
the need for sound professional advice and
business judgement.
Renewable energy resources in
Scotland
Biomass is organic material of plant or
animal origin that can be processed to provide
direct heat, electricity via combustion, biogas
or bio diesel, or ethanol as a substitute for
petrol. It can be stored, and used for heat,
transport or electricity. The lifecycle carbon
balance of biomass can result in significant
savings in greenhouse gas emissions compared
with fossil fuel alternatives. Low input crops
for energy use, such as short rotation coppice
or miscanthus, exemplify such savings. |
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