The North Sea is the focal point of a new EU-backed conference on the future of energy in Europe.
Industry body Scottish Renewables is running the two-day event – the first of its kind – in Edinburgh and it has attracted interest from experts and delegates from around the world to discuss the technical, political, economic and policy changes required to move to a greener future.
Using regions around the North Sea as a test-bed, Scottish Renewables has been working with partners from Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark to explore how to make better use of energy systems – electricity, heat and transport – to serve homes, business and public buildings.
Director of policy Jenny Hogan, said changing work and lifestyle patterns and a desire to save money and cut carbon emissions, meant new ways of delivering the energy were needed.
She said: “Political events are changing the European energy landscape and have led to a new focus on getting secure, safe supplies of energy for the continent, while moving away from fossil fuels.
She said communities could produce their own energy and biofuel and use it to power their homes and cars.
She added: “Household batteries which store energy from rooftop solar panels and then use it to power an electric car similarly reduces the pressure on our national electricity grid and puts the consumer in charge of their own energy supply.
“Spare electricity produced by a wind turbine can be used to create hydrogen gas, which can be stored and later used to power hydrogen buses.
“On a grander scale, decommissioned oil and gas infrastructure can be re-purposed and used for carbon capture and storage projects, reducing the carbon emissions from fossil fuel power stations. The opportunities which appear when we break down the barriers we’ve traditionally placed on energy are enormous.”
The conference takes place from September 1-2.
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