Projects worth around £500m move closer to completion
Strategic investment to help unlock Scotland’s green energy revolution has moved a step closer, First Minister Humza Yousaf announced yesterday.
In a significant milestone for Scotland’s offshore wind sector, three projects have been invited to move to Stage 2 of the Strategic Investment Model (SIM) process.
Collectively the projects – which represent a mix of local and inward investment into ports, port infrastructure and manufacturing – have a capital expenditure of around £500 million.
The SIM will help to deliver transformational offshore wind supply chain growth in Scotland through innovative collaboration between offshore wind developers, the Scottish Government, enterprise agencies and Crown Estate Scotland.
Making the announcement at the Scottish Renewables and Offshore Wind Conference in Glasgow, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “There are moments when certain industries can stand confident that when they look ahead, they will see a future in which they play a pivotal role in securing the wealth and wellbeing of a nation – Scotland’s offshore industry is at that moment.
“Together, we can create the right conditions to attract investment, build the supply chain, recruit and deliver the infrastructure needed to ensure that these projects will thrive.
“A select group of three initial projects have been invited to move to Stage 2 of the SIM process, in a significant milestone in our offshore programme. They represent a mix of local and inward investment opportunities into ports, port infrastructure, and manufacturing – collectively, they have a capital expenditure of just under £500 million.”
Due to commercial sensitivity specific projects cannot be named while undertaking the SIM process but details will be made available in due course.
CAMPAIGNERS CALL FOR FULLY RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM BY 2030
Climate campaigners are calling on the Scottish Government to bite the bullet and commit to a fully renewable energy system by 2030 as the public consultation on its Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan closes tomorrow (Tuesday 9th May).
Campaigners highlighted conflicting visions within the document and the over-reliance on carbon capture and hydrogen to meet the Government’s 2030 vision, despite previously admitting this would not be possible.
Campaigners said that with critical 2030 climate targets looming, it is essential that the final version of the energy plan sets out a comprehensive strategy for a managed and just phase out of oil and gas, moving to a fully renewable energy system that is run for the benefit of people and the planet.
Whilst campaigning to be First Minister Humza Yousaf pledged to take a 10% equity share in future offshore wind leasing round and set up a publicly owned energy generation company. Neither of these options to create an energy system that delivers greater benefits to the public are considered in this document.
Given the abject failure of market forces to respond to the climate crisis, Friends of the Earth Scotland believes that public ownership is key to driving the transformation of the energy system.
The draft version of the ESJTP was also criticised for compiling existing policies and strategies, failing to fill in the gaps or address lack of coherence between these.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “The final destination of this Strategy is bold but there is no coherent plan for how we will get there.
“If Scotland is to stop missing climate targets, it needs to get off fossil fuels and deliver the wide-ranging transformation needed in public transport, home insulation and renewable generation that can help slash climate pollution and tackle the cost of living crisis.
“There is no time to lose. The Scottish Government must bite the bullet and set a clear direction of travel and how we are going to get there. As part of that we need a clear end date for oil and gas within this decade and a detailed plan on how affected workers and communities will be supported through the transition.
“Ministers must stop clinging to the dangerous illusion that carbon capture can deliver the urgent step change needed in Scotland’s climate efforts, and focus on delivering a fully renewable energy system by 2030.
“Profit driven energy bosses have long failed to deliver an energy system that works for households or creates enough decent green jobs in Scotland.
“Humza Yousaf must build on his promise to take stakes in future offshore wind projects and make sure that a public energy company is set up swiftly to share the benefits of our energy resources more fairly and drive the just transition.”
The final version of the Strategy should:
• Set a clear date and plan for the end of oil and gas use within this decade • Reject new fossil fuel infrastructure and over-reliance on Carbon Capture • Clarify that the 2030 decarbonisation target will be met fully through renewables • Detailed green jobs creation plan and clear pathways for oil workers to switch sector • Centre public ownership with public good objectives to drive the just transition • Reduce overall energy demand through public transport and home insulation • Ensure fair consumption of minerals critical to the energy transition
Array currently tested before deployment this year
Scotland’s first array of floating solar panels will be installed this year as part of a move to generate renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.
First Minister Humza Yousaf toured the manufacturing facility of Nova Innovation in Leith yesterday where the panels are being tested before their launch.
The company installed the world’s first offshore tidal turbine array in Shetland in 2016 and subsequently received £6.4 million from the Scottish National Investment Bank in September 2021 to boost production of innovative renewable energy generators.
It has since established project sites in Canada, France and Indonesia. Its floating solar panels build on its expertise in tidal energy and an official launch of the installation will take place later this year with a multi-megawatt international order already in the pipeline.
The First Minister said: “These panels give a fascinating glimpse into the opportunities for Scotland’s future energy system and are the first step towards harnessing our significant potential for floating solar.
“The investment by the Scottish National Investment Bank in Nova Innovation helped expand its manufacturing base here in Leith and aligned strongly with the Scottish Government’s priority of supporting innovative technology that will help us achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045.
“Scotland is already one of the most advanced hubs in Europe for the testing and demonstration of marine energy technology and I look forward to seeing where the panels will be launched in the near future.”
Chief Executive of Nova Innovation Simon Forrest said: “With record-high energy prices and growing concerns over security of supply, there is an immediate need for Scotland to focus on homegrown energy from our abundant natural resources.
“Scotland is at the heart of the tidal energy revolution and Nova continues to lead the sector with proven technology and unrivalled reliability. With the addition of floating solar to our portfolio, we are ideally placed to help drive the race to Net Zero.
“We were honoured to welcome the First Minister to discuss the economic benefits, job creation opportunities and the part Scotland can play in the global supply for renewable energy.”
Supplying Scottish towns and rural communities with sustainable hydrogen gas will be the focus of a landmark partnership announced today between gas distribution company SGN and renewables generator RWE.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the two companies to investigate the development of electrolysers, powered by RWE’s 10 onshore wind farms in Scotland which have a combined capacity of 213 megawatts, to supply homes and businesses with hydrogen gas via Scotland’s gas network.
Hydrogen has a crucial role to play in achieving net zero and is an essential component to decarbonise sectors like industry, heavy load transport, aviation and heat. Published in April 2022, the UK Government’s Energy Security Strategy doubled its ambition for low carbon hydrogen production capacity to 10GW by 2030. Similarly, the Scottish Government’s Hydrogen Action Plan aims to create 5GW of hydrogen by 2030 and 25GW by 2045.
The partnership will investigate the decarbonisation of homes and businesses connected to the networks of Campbeltown, Stornoway, Oban, Thurso and Wick, which are not connected to the mains gas network.
These networks are currently supplied by Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), which when swapped with hydrogen could save 21,000 tonnes of carbon each year and decarbonise around 9,500 properties.
The partnership will define how much hydrogen is needed, the requirements to convert these networks to hydrogen, and the supply of green electrolytic hydrogen from RWE’s renewable onshore wind farms nearby. In doing so, the project could also unlock onshore wind farm developments in grid-constrained* areas, by providing a use for the green electricity generated.
A feasibility study will also be conducted over the coming months into a 100-megawatt (MW) electrolyser at RWE’s Markinch CHP biomass plant.
This could produce green hydrogen from local and grid connected renewable energy, to connect into SGN’s gas network in Fife. It would build on the work SGN is already undertaking in Levenmouth on their world-first H100 Fife project.
Steve Boughton, RWE Director Hydrogen Development, said: “This MoU is a perfect partnership to develop options for the decarbonisation of domestic and business gas networks, and to help Government achieve its ambitions for 10GW of hydrogen production.
Hydrogen will play an essential role in the pathway to net zero, particularly in industry and homes which are hard to decarbonise, and RWE is perfectly positioned to support the development of the UK hydrogen economy.”
Fergus Tickell, SGN System Transformation and Business Development Lead, said: “We’re delighted to partner with RWE which shares our belief that hydrogen gas has a leading role in the decarbonisation of homes, businesses and industry in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“We’ll explore how hydrogen produced locally can be delivered through the world-class networks we’ve been operating for decades, to all of Scotland’s communities, including in Fife, Campbeltown, Stornoway, Oban, Thurso and Wick. We also look forward to investigating more opportunities across the UK.”
The knowledge and experience gained from these initial studies will enable a better understanding of the practicalities and economics of the entire hydrogen cycle and will be an important precursor to a potential funding application under the UK Government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.
Crown Estate Scotland has announced the outcome of its application process for ScotWind Leasing, the first Scottish offshore wind leasing round in over a decade and the first ever since the management of offshore wind rights were devolved to Scotland.
The results coming just months after Glasgow hosted the global COP26 climate conference show the huge opportunity that Scotland has to transform its energy market and move towards a net zero economy.
Highlights include:
17 projects have been selected out of a total of 74 applications, and have now been offered option agreements which reserve the rights to specific areas of seabed
A total of just under £700m will be paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the Scottish Government for public spending
The area of seabed covered by the 17 projects is just over 7,000km2 (a maximum of 8,600km2 was made available through the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan)
Initial indications suggest a multi-billion pound supply chain investment in Scotland
The potential power generated will provide for the expanding electrification of the Scottish economy as we move to net zero.
The details of the 17 applicants who have been offered option agreements can be found below and in the downloads section.
Map reference
Lead applicant
Option Fees
Technology
Total capacity (MW)
1
BP Alternative Energy Investments
£85,900,000
Fixed
2,907
2
SSE Renewables
£85,900,000
Floating
2,610
3
Falck Renewables
£28,000,000
Floating
1,200
4
Shell New Energies
£86,000,000
Floating
2,000
5
Vattenfall
£20,000,000
Floating
798
6
DEME
£18,700,000
Fixed
1,008
7
DEME
£20,000,000
Floating
1,008
8
Falck Renewables
£25,600,000
Floating
1,000
9
Ocean Winds
£42,900,000
Fixed
1,000
10
Falck Renewables
£13,400,000
Floating
500
11
Scottish Power Renewables
£68,400,000
Floating
3,000
12
BayWa
£33,000,000
Floating
960
13
Offshore Wind Power
£65,700,000
Fixed
2,000
14
Northland Power
£3,900,000
Floating
1,500
15
Magnora
£10,300,000
Mixed
495
16
Northland Power
£16,100,000
Fixed
840
17
Scottish Power Renewables
£75,400,000
Fixed
2,000
Totals
£699,200,000
24,826
Simon Hodge, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland, said: “Today’s results are a fantastic vote of confidence in Scotland’s ability to transform our energy sector. Just a couple of months after hosting COP26, we’ve now taken a major step towards powering our future economy with renewable electricity.
“In addition to the environmental benefits, this also represents a major investment in the Scottish economy, with around £700m being delivered straight into the public finances and billions of pounds worth of supply chain commitments.
“The variety and scale of the projects that will progress onto the next stages shows both the remarkable progress of the offshore wind sector, and a clear sign that Scotland is set to be a major hub for the further development of this technology in the years to come.”
Should any application not progress to signing a full agreement, the next highest scoring application will instead be offered an option.
Once these agreements are officially signed, the details of the supply chain commitments made by the applicants as part of their Supply Chain Development Statements will be published.
This is just the first stage of the long process these projects will have to go through before we see turbines going into the water, as the projects evolve through consenting, financing, and planning stages.
Responsibility for these stages does not sit with Crown Estate Scotland, and projects will only progress to a full seabed lease once all these various planning stages have been completed.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the “truly historic” opportunity for Scotland’s net zero economy, as the winners of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing auction were announced by Crown Estate Scotland yesterday.
17 projects, with a combined potential generating capacity of 25GW, have been offered the rights to specific areas of the seabed for the development of offshore wind power – with developers giving commitments to invest in the Scottish supply chain, providing opportunities for high quality green jobs for decades to come.
The projects are expected to secure at least £1bn in supply chain investment for every 1GW of capacity proposed. They will also generate around £700 million in revenue for the Scottish Government and represent the world’s first commercial scale opportunity for floating offshore wind.
As well as helping complete Scotland’s own journey to net zero, creating thousands of jobs in the process, our offshore wind resource also has the potential to position Scotland as a major exporter of renewable energy, including green hydrogen.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ““The scale of opportunity here is truly historic. ScotWind puts Scotland at the forefront of the global development of offshore wind, represents a massive step forward in our transition to net zero, and will help deliver the supply chain investments and high quality jobs that will make the climate transition a fair one.
“It allows us to make huge progress in decarbonising our energy supply – vital if we are to reduce Scotland’s emissions – while securing investment in the Scottish supply chain of at least £1 billion for every gigawatt of power.
This will be transformational. And because Scotland’s workers are superbly placed with transferable skills to capitalise on the transition to new energy sources, we have every reason to be optimistic about the number of jobs that can be created.
“That means, for example, that people working right now in the oil and gas sector in the North East of Scotland can be confident of opportunities for their future. The spread of projects across our waters promises economic benefits for communities the length and breadth of the country, ensuring Scotland benefits directly from the revolution in energy generation that is coming.
“The scale of opportunity represented in today’s announcement exceeds our current planning assumption of 10GW of offshore wind – which is a massive vote of confidence in Scotland. So we will now embark on the rigorous consenting process required to make sure we can maximise the potential that clearly exists in offshore wind while also ensuring that the impacts of large scale development – including on other marine users and the wider natural environment – are properly understood and addressed.
“While it is not yet possible to say with certainty what the scale of development will ultimately be, there is no doubt that the scale of this opportunity is transformational – both for our environment and the economy.”
The Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy partnership taking part in the current ScotWind offshore wind leasing round is celebrating the success of three of its bids to secure seabed leases for sites which lend themselves to the deployment of large-scale floating wind technology in Scotland.
Two of the partnership’s proposed projects – a site east of Aberdeen in Plan Option E1 and a site north of Fraserburgh in Plan Option NE6 have been granted leases from Crown Estate Scotland – along with a proposed site east of Caithness in Plan Option NE3 which will be developed by a consortium of Falck Renewables, BlueFloat Energy and Ørsted.
The three areas could accommodate a total of approximately 3.0 GW of offshore wind capacity with the projects scheduled to be operational by the end of the decade, subject to securing consent, commercial arrangements and grid connections.
The successful bids combined BlueFloat Energy’s knowledge and experience in developing, financing and executing offshore wind projects with Falck Renewables’ strong track record of global project development and over 15 years of community engagement in Scotland.
Carlos Martin, CEO of BlueFloat Energy, said: “The Scottish coastline is ideal for developing offshore wind projects and our team is thrilled to be given the opportunity to deploy our expertise to deliver these projects in Scotland.
“The potential for boosting the economy and reinforcing Scotland’s position at the forefront of the energy transition is huge. We have already carried out extensive work on mapping out the Scottish supply chain and now look forward to ensuring we work with as many local companies as possible.”
Toni Volpe, CEO of Falck Renewables, said: “We are delighted that our applications have won the support of Crown Estate Scotland and that our offshore wind projects will be making a considerable contribution to providing Scotland with clean energy.
“Falck Renewables has a worldwide renewables portfolio and with our growth strategy we are on track to facilitate the global transition to a low carbon future.”
Richard Dibley, Managing Director of Falck Renewables Wind Ltd, said: “We are hugely excited about the positive impact these projects will have on the whole of Scotland in terms of creating jobs, economic benefit and helping to achieve a net zero future.
“Over the past 15 years we have seen communities empowered with the help of the financial support they have received from our onshore wind farms and we look forward to sharing the benefits of offshore wind with local communities.”
The Falck Renewables, BlueFloat Energy, Ørsted consortium has already begun work with community ownership experts Energy4All on a new framework which will allow residents of Scotland and Scottish communities to share the financial benefits of the offshore wind energy projects the consortium plans to build in the future.
As part of the preparatory work to deliver the offshore wind projects the consortium will collaborate with Energy Skills Partnership Scotland (ESP) to help train up a skilled workforce in time for construction to begin.
Research will also be carried out with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) to investigate the potential effects of floating offshore wind developments on the marine environment. Projects under discussion will examine how fishing interests and offshore wind can work together and study the interaction of fish, marine mammals and seabirds with floating offshore wind farms.
Energy4All is a non-profit distributing co-operative social enterprise formed by the Baywind Energy Co-operative in 2002 to enable more communities to own and operate renewable energy projects.
Marna McMillin, Chief Executive of Energy4All, said: “Climate breakdown is the key environmental challenge facing our society. If we are to successfully decarbonize our economy, we must rapidly replace polluting fossil fuels with clean power. This requires us to generate much more zero carbon electricity to heat our homes and power our vehicles.
“We need the public to support those changes, and we believe one of the best ways of ensuring that support is to allow individuals to have a share in those projects.
“Falck Renewables has a 15-year track record of working with Energy4All having successfully set up seven co-operatives at its Scottish onshore wind farms, enabling thousands of people to buy a stake in their local wind farm.
“We think partnerships of this sort could be a model for other offshore projects in both the UK and the rest of Europe.”
Reacting to the outcome of the application process for ScotWind leasing by Crown Estate Scotland, the ALBA Party Depute Leader and MP for East Lothian Kenny MacAskill MP said:“This offshore wind giveaway is selling the family silver cheap while Scots families face crippling energy bills this April.
“Those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. It looks like the Scottish Government have surrendered vast chunks of the North Sea wind resource for a relative pittance just as Westminster gave away Scotland’s oil in the 1970s.
“Instead of a one off payment of under £700 million there should be annual payments. Instead of Scottish resources being just handed over to international investment companies there should be a public stake in every single field.
“One has to question the basic competence of Crown Estate Scotland. They think they have auctioned away 10-12 GW of power. Informed industry estimates are the real capacity from this round alone is double that.
“Offshore wind is fast becoming the most lucrative major power source on the planet. Scotland has one quarter of the resource of Europe. It will be cold comfort to Scottish pensioners shivering in their homes facing vast fuel bills to know that the Scottish Government have given away so much of the green power of the future for so little in return.”
The STUC says that the announcement must mark the end of broken promises to Scottish workers and presage the start of a long overdue renewables jobs revolution.
Oil giants Shell and BP, alongside Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power Renewables, and a number of multinational companies have all won leases to develop offshore wind farms off Scotland’s coast.
Following campaigns from trade unions in the wake of failures to secure meaningful fabrication contracts at BiFab, the ScotWind leasing round included requirements on companies to make supply chain commitments, with many bidders making public statements promising major investments in job creation. However, these statements have not yet been published and in any case they do not require a specific proportion of work to be undertaken locally.
The STUC continues to be concerned that so few successful bids are from domestic companies, with previous experience showing that multinational companies regularly offshore work to Europe and the Far East.
The STUC is calling for the Scottish Government to call a summit of successful developers to secure ongoing commitments to cooperate on delivery and work with unions and government to make the green jobs revolution a reality.
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Over the past six months the public relations teams of the prospective bidders have been in overdrive, promising the long overdue renewables jobs revolution. Now we need to make that happen.
“The First Minister says that we have every reason to be optimistic about the number of jobs that can be created, but our skills workers in oil and gas need more than words given the experience over the past decade tells us that jobs in offshore wind are consistently offshored overseas.
“With over 1000 massive turbines to become operational over the next decade, it would be nothing short of economic vandalism if we fail to build a thriving supply chain in Scotland. Fundamental to that is building the infrastructure to enable large scale fabrication in Scottish yards, requiring local content from developers, and addressing questions of ownership through the development of a Scottish National Infrastructure company.
“Unions will work proactively and positively with employers and business to deliver the Fair Work future our workers deserve, but we will also campaign vigorously to ensure that promises are kept.”
· RWE marks £5 million donated over 15 years to community funds in Scotland
· Flexible financial support has benefited a wide range of local people, groups and infrastructure
· Bad á Cheò Wind Farm education & training fund provides residents with opportunities to upskill and increase employment potential
RWE, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, has reached the milestone of donating £5 million over 15 years, through its community funds set up at projects it operates in Scotland. The community funds help charities and causes to thrive and supports local communities.
This money goes a long way to supporting the sustainable development of the communities in which renewable projects are located. Hundreds of projects and communities have already been supported across Scotland with many other projects ready to be funded across the country.
In total, RWE operates 26 sites in Scotland with many employees living locally. In addition to Community Funds, RWE is committed to offering community shared ownership at many of the projects in development.
The funding process is flexible and easily accessible, with decisions about funding allocations made by a panel of local representatives who know their communities best.
A number of examples of positive, grass roots projects funded by RWE’s Community Funds, including causes such as:
1 – Education and training fund supported by Bad á Cheò Onshore Wind Farm
Bad á Cheò Onshore Wind Farm Education and Training fund is open to residents living closest to the wind farm and provides bursaries to local people to access training and education opportunities that better equip them with the range of skills required to enter into, or retain, employment in key sectors. To date it has awarded nearly £50,000.
Taking advantage of the fund, the first two beneficiaries, Zoe Farquhar and Louise Todd, both undertook courses that increased their ability to generate more income and work for themselves.
Zoe Farquharson undertook an Introduction to Kiltmaking course, to enable her to meet a demand locally for handmade kilts by participants in Highland Dance Schools as well as sympathetic repairs to older garments. Louise Todd formalised her accountancy skills by taking a professional bookkeeping course that enabled her to increase the services her business could offer.
Thirty-five local people have received funding towards courses as diverse as childcare, sign language, deer stalking, welding inspection, accountancy and kilt making, or to assist them with costs whilst completing university education.
2 – Helping communities on their journey to net zero by supporting community energy projects
The An Suidhe Onshore Wind Farm Community Fund provided an investment in equity (share ownership) towards the River Avich Community Hydro Scheme. Providing financial support to the project while enabling a return of 4% back to the An Suidhe Wind Farm Community Fund.
This was the first investment in a community-owned renewable project from a community benefit fund in Scotland and an exciting example of how an area can achieve its renewable energy ambitions whilst continuously reinvesting in local initiatives.
Community Benefit UK
Katy Woodington, Community Investment Manager UK & Ireland, said: “This is an important milestone, which represents the significant difference that renewable energy can make to people’s day to day lives as well as the planet.
“Funds are set up with decisions made by local people, so it is great to see them making the most of these flexible funds to support innovative projects, push boundaries and help realise their ambitions.”
There are additional long standing community and societal benefits that have been provided as a result of RWE’s green developments including a significant boost to local and regional supply chains, and supporting the development of high skilled, well-paid jobs and training programmes.
To date, RWE, which directly employs around 100 people in Scotland, has invested over £180 million in the country and recently confirmed its participation in the ScotWind seabed leasing round process, as we look to expand our global offshore wind portfolio.
RWE is the third largest renewable generator in the UK with the largest renewable project pipeline including the construction of the 1.4 GW Sofia and 857 MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farms. RWE is also progressing four extension projects in the UK, with a combined potential installed capacity of around 2.6 GW (RWE’s pro rata share: 1.3 GW.)
Furthermore, we successfully bid for two new adjacent offshore sites on Dogger Bank, developing some of the world’s most advanced offshore wind farms, in support of government net zero ambitions.
To find out more about RWE’s Community Funds, and the local projects and causes that they help to support, visit our Community finding in action page.
Low angle view of layered herb plants enjoying hydroponic technology system of controlled LED light and CO2-infused air in pristine growing chamber.
Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will be the first higher education institute in Scotland to open a vertical farm for research and education.
It will build the half million-pound facility at its King’s Buildings campus in Edinburgh next year.
The project, which has received a £200,000 grant from the Scottish Government, will be used in key research into plant and crop science and will also be used by students.
The facility will grow nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables that have specific human health qualities. It will also analyse crop yield and growth rates with all resource inputs to compare their carbon footprint to other production systems.
It will operate on renewable energy sources from the national grid, supported by battery technology to manage peaks in energy demand.
With only a handful of commercial vertical farms in Scotland, the facility will be important for demonstration and knowledge exchange with farmers, growers and small businesses, giving vital support and promoting innovation.
Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, said: “As we look to produce more fruits and vegetables locally, vertical farming could provide us with a way to make better use of our land.
“It’s an exciting and innovative field that could bring us real benefits and it is important that we have the skills in Scotland to take advantage of this technology.
“By supporting the industry at an early stage, we can assess these benefits and help to focus our long-term strategy. We will also be reaching out to the wider industry to explore in further detail the opportunities low-carbon vertical farming offers. We will work together to establish the future of vertical farming in Scotland.”
Professor Wayne Powell, Principal and Chief Executive of SRUC, said: “One of the most critical challenges we face is how to feed a growing global population. We have been teaching farmers for generations but, as the population increases, it is important that we look at growing different, more nutritious crops to support healthy diets and local access to food.
“Not only will this vertical farming unit be a valuable asset to our students, but it will also provide us with important data to help optimise and promote innovation into this expanding industry.”
The project will be going out to tender in the coming weeks.
SP Energy Networks sets out plans to invest £1.58 billion in Central and Southern Scotland between 2023 and 2028
Investment is critical to the UK hitting its Net Zero targets, with the UK set to see circa 30 million EVs hit the streets and 22 million heat pumps installed in homes by 2050.
Critical upgrades will be required to connect an additional 3GW of renewable generation as Scotland revolutionises transport and heating infrastructure at speed.
Proposals include £30m Net Zero Fund to support innovative, low carbon community projects across SP Energy Network’s licence areas.
SP Energy Networks has today launched its draft RIIO-ED2 Business Plan, detailing the £3.2 billion of investment required to ready the UK for an electric future, of which £1.58bn would be in Central and Southern Scotland’s distribution network.
The work will kick-start the much-needed growth in low carbon technologies required to reach the Scotland’s climate ambitions. Across Central and Southern Scotland, the investment would enable the connection of over 370,000 electric vehicles, 210,000 domestic heat pumps and an additional 3GW of low carbon electricity generation connected during the five-year period.
To help deliver this mammoth task, SP Energy Networks plans to recruit more than 1,100 green jobs across its licence areas (Central and Southern Scotland and Merseyside, Cheshire, North & Mid-Wales and North Shropshire), with thousands more indirect jobs supported over the five years.
Frank Mitchell, CEO of SP Energy Networks, said:“The scale of the task at hand cannot be underestimated. If the Scotland is to hit its Net Zero targets, we must deliver one of the largest, fastest upgrades of our critical infrastructure this country has ever seen.
“In RIIO-ED2, we need to respond to our customers’ changing needs as we move towards Net Zero. We’ve set out our plans to continue delivering exceptional service, supporting our most vulnerable customers, and taking on a more proactive role in our communities.
“Our customers already rate us at over 9 out of 10 for satisfaction and we plan on going even further. We will be a partner that supports their journey to Net Zero, bridging the gap from ambition to action to make sure that we leave no-one behind in the energy transition.”
At the heart of SP Energy Networks planned investment across its licence area is:
developing a network that’s ready for Net Zero by continuing to adapt the world-class network to be more resilient and more reliable, using innovative, flexible, and efficient solutions. Innovation and efficiency embedded in the plan will save £173m for customers.
being the trusted partner for customers, communities, and stakeholders by engaging more with customers and communities, supporting them by offering enhanced and tailored services, and going further for vulnerable customers. A proposed £30 million Distribution Net Zero fund will support innovative, low-carbon project proposals to enable communities to realise their ambitions, and £62.5 million of social benefits will be delivered through the provision of support services to more customers than ever before.
readying the business for a digital and sustainable future by embedding new digital approaches, innovation, and process redesign to save customers more than £60 million and by putting sustainability first in order to reduce our carbon footprint by 38% by 2028.
Frank Mitchell explains:“When the current infrastructure was built, homes used gas or solid fuel for heating with only twenty appliances running on electricity – compared to more than fifty now.
“Over the next two decades, we expect to see that demand rise significantly, as millions more electric vehicles and heating systems come online.
“Our network has served us well over the last fifty years. Now is the time to invest so it stands ready to continue that service in a truly decarbonised future.”
SP Energy Networks has engaged with over 15,000 customers and stakeholders on the Business Plan and will continue to engage and consult ahead of the submission of the final plan in December 2021.
Locogen Celebrates 10th Anniversary with New Office Opening
Renewable energy specialists Locogen enjoyed a double celebration on Tuesday, marking 10 years in the renewable energy industry and the official opening of their fantastic new office building in Stockbridge.Continue reading Deidre Brock joins Locogen double celebration
A £7.5 million project between the public and private sectors has been established to deliver more electric vehicle charging points and ensure the infrastructure needed to support these is put in place.
