Scottish hydrogen MoU ‘extremely bad news’ for domestic supply chain
A new pact on hydrogen between Scotland and Germany has been branded “extremely bad news” for the domestic supply chain.
Dick Winchester
Dick Winchester: Time to temper the ‘world leader’ claims
What brought that on? My anger with one of the latest “Scotland is now” claims. Issued by Scottish Development International as a Tweet it claims, and I quote: “From wind to wave and hydrogen to solar, Scotland is a global leader in renewable energy”. The associated video itself then goes on to claim that “Scotland’s a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies”.
Dick Winchester: What’s next for the North Sea?
I spent nearly ten very happy and rewarding years working offshore with a great bunch of people operating deep water manned submersibles and ROVs mainly in the N Sea.
Norway: Bad for my blood pressure!
It’s very difficult for me as a supporter of Scottish independence to write about Norway – or Denmark and some other small countries for that matter – without becoming extremely hot under the collar.
What’s the safety case for the planet?
It’s not often an entire train of thought is triggered by a report on an unusual event in the world of ornithology.
Hydrogen opportunity could evaporate
During a recent visit to the USA the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon gave a speech at the Brooking Institute in which she expressed extensive support for the proposition that hydrogen will be an essential part of the move away from fossil fuels.
North America: enterprising, dynamic and opportunistic
My eldest son is an aerospace engineer and lives and works in Seattle on the US West coast. He’s built a career in an industry which nowadays offers few opportunities in Scotland nor many in other parts of the UK.
Outcry as UK loses out to UAE’s Lamprell on £10bn floating wind projects
Work for a trio of giant floating wind projects off the coast of Scotland have gone to the UAE fabricator Lamprell, sparking outcry.
ESG factors must lead to energy transformation
The war in Ukraine has jolted European politicians into finally understanding that overdependence on imported energy can carry extreme risks. What they haven’t understand yet though is that you can’t just turn off one set of taps and turn on another.
Industry reaction as OGA rebrands to NSTA
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has made a rebrand to the North Sea Transition Authority - here's the industry reaction to the move.
Normalising Hydrogen is already a thing in Europe
There are those that only talk about Net Zero – the “talkers”, those that are forever preparing Net Zero plans and studies – the “ditherers”, and those who are really getting on with implementing genuine Net Zero – the “doers”.
Scotland could help ease Europe’s gas problem
Europe is too reliant on Russian gas. In fact, Europe is too reliant on gas full stop but it being mainly Russian gas makes it even more problematic.
‘I suppose it was inevitable’: Campaigner, industry and analyst reaction to OGUK rebrand
Reaction to news that the leading trade body for the North Sea, Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), is rebranding has varied from claims of it being a “PR stunt” to praise for a move that’s “not before time”.
ScotWind: First mover advantage is pointless if you’re not actually first
I’m a little bemused. Inevitably the ScotWind lease awards were going to trigger all sorts of claims about how the Scottish offshore wind supply chain will gain from this huge project, but nobody seems prepared to explain exactly how this will happen given that we don’t actually have a supply chain of any note particularly when it comes to the high value hardware.
Let’s have some real ambition, please
Building an additional 10GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 is an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up Scotland’s plans to try to reach Net Zero. ScotWind will be ground-breaking both in terms of size and opportunity.
The Aberdeen 58: It’s in their hands, no one else’s
I read with wry amusement that some 58 of Aberdeen’s great and good have written to the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other political leaders asking for a “more reasoned debate” on the future of oil and gas.
Whisky galore! – Will Scotland benefit from the distillery decarbonisation drive?
The whisky industry has been quick to recognise the potential for green hydrogen to reduce its carbon footprint.
Scotland made little technical progress toward Net Zero in 2021
Let’s face it, 2021 was a terrible year.
Storm Arwen dealt a hammer blow…to Aberdeenshire and the ‘electrify everything’ lobby
The “electrify everything” lobbying brigade has just been deal a damaging blow.
Burning question of scrapping gas boilers
Removing, breaking, and recycling what we can of redundant offshore oil and gas infrastructure is a huge task but worth many hundreds of millions of pounds to those fortunate enough to win the work.
COP26: Can it strangle ideology & replace it with logic?
I have long been an advocate for the renationalisation of energy. My father was a veteran of both the pre-WW2 private electricity industry and post war nationalisation.
‘Frustration and sadness’ as contract for Scottish hydrogen project goes overseas
A leading energy adviser has lamented the decision to award a contract for a major Scottish hydrogen project to a company from Norway.
‘Today marks the start of the UK’s hydrogen revolution’ – Westminster publishes Hydrogen Strategy
The UK Government has pledged to support the advancement of both green and blue hydrogen as part of plans to create a “thriving” low carbon sector.
Will COP26 provide inspiration and trigger ambition?
The United Nations climate change conference which is to be held in Glasgow in November should be a source of inspiration and an opportunity for Scottish industry to showcase its Net Zero manufacturing supply chain.
Potential for ‘thousands’ of jobs as Sir Ian Wood unveils plans for Aberdeen ‘Energy Transition Zone’
Sir Ian Wood has unveiled ambitious plans to help the north-east economy capitalise on the energy transition, potentially creating “thousands” of jobs in the process.