RENEWABLE energy has been rising up the political and economic agenda in Scotland.
It is the ambition of the Scottish Government to generate 100% of domestic electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020.
It is highly likely that when the Department of Energy and Climate Change reports back on energy statistics this year, Scotland will have met an interim target of 31% renewable generation by the end of 2011. For a developed nation to shift from a power sector dominated by conventional thermal generation technologies to full renewable generation in less than 10 years would be an unprecedented achievement.
To meet the 2020 challenge, several key technologies will be required to complement hydropower and onshore wind capacity. These include offshore wind, marine renewables and carbon-capture and storage.
Securing funding in the current economic climate will be a major challenge but as the investment levels reported for 2010 show, there is clearly an appetite in the private sector.
Technologies such as wave and tidal energy are further from full commercial rollout but Scotland can certainly claim to be a global leader, with prominent technology developers and several projects in the advanced stages of planning.
It is hoped these emerging technologies will start to be rolled out before 2020.
Numerous other issues will need to be resolved, including development of high-voltage grid infrastructure and the resolution of concerns surrounding the UK’s transmission charging scheme, which will require a collaborative approach from policymakers at Holyrood and Whitehall.
Frank Wright, is the Aberdeen-based renewables manager of energy consultant Douglas-Westwood
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