Scotland Looking to the Ocean Around it for Energy

From RenewableEnergyAccess.com, an announcement of a plan from Scotland’s First Minister and Enterprise Minister “…to generate up to 10 percent of Scotland’s electricity from the sea around us.”

Renewable wave and tidal energy could provide up to 10 percent of Scotland’s electricity production and create around 7,000 new jobs under measures announced by Nicol Stephen, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and Enterprise Minister. And the government appears intent on pursuing that scenario….

A group of industry experts advised the Scottish government that the potential exists to install over one GW of wave and tidal capacity in Scottish waters. This is around one-tenth of Scotland’s current total electricity production.

Stephen is bridging the funding gap by making renewable energy regulations to kick start multi-million pound investments in marine energy, specifically by awarding renewable obligation certificates for wave and tidal output.

“To deliver, we need to do more. The costs of installing and producing energy from marine devices remain high. Development on a large scale will drive down costs and make it possible for these devices to power the engine of a sustainable Scotland,” Stephen said. The target is for 18 percent of electricity generated in Scotland to come from renewable sources by 2010, rising to 40 percent by 2020.

Wave energy doesn’t get the attention of other renewable sources such as wind and solar power, but it keeps popping up on the radar, especially in Europe. Along these lines, Jamais at WorldChanging has written about “The Manchester Bobber,” which harnesses “hydrokinetic power (encompassing wave, current and tidal power).”

Categories: ocean, renewable, energy, wave, current, tidal, Scotland