DOCSLIB.ORG

Renewable Energy Update

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Renewable Energy Update SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: 8 FEBRUARY 2011 RENEWABLE ENERGY UPDATE Report by Director of Development PURPOSE OF REPORT To update Members on the latest position with regard to Renewable Energy matters in and around the Outer Hebrides and to recommend a course of action in respect of Transmission Charging review and Crown Estate reform. COMPETENCE 1.1 There are no legal, financial or other constraints to the recommendations being implemented. SUMMARY 2.1 The report provides an update on Renewable Energy matters in and around the Outer Hebrides. The proposed 450MW Radial Connector between the Main Interconnected Transmission System (MITS) at Beauly and the Outer Hebrides is discussed and the impact which prohibitive Transmission Charges (current and forecast) are having on the Radial Connector project is outlined. 2.2 OFGEM’s Project TransmiT review of Transmission Charges is covered with a recommendation that the Comhairle continue to push for an equitable outcome for the Scottish islands from this process. 2.3 The potential of marine Renewable Energy around the Outer Hebrides is discussed and this leads into an account of the Comhairle’s efforts, along with other island Local Authorities, to progress reform of The Crown Estate for the benefit of island communities. 2.4 An update is provided on the Stornoway Wind Farm and Beinn Mhor Power projects, both critical to the delivery of the Outer Hebrides Radial Connector, and the report concludes with an overview of the current status of the ISLEPACT and ISLES projects. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Comhairle agree to: a) continue lobbying the UK Energy Minister, DECC and OFGEM with a view to achieving an equitable outcome from Project TransmiT insofar as the Scottish islands are concerned; and, b) continue lobbying UK Government Ministers with a view to achieving reform of The Crown Estate to ensure the retention of a more equitable share of Marine Estate revenues in island coastal communities. Contact Officer John Cunningham, 01851 709397 Appendix 1 None Background Paper None BACKGROUND 4.1 Progress with the development of renewable energy in and around the Outer Hebrides continues to be constrained by lack of Grid connectivity and prohibitive Transmission Charges. Although 462MW of renewable generation is now operational, consented, in planning or in advanced development, there is no provision to export this electricity to Grid. 4.2 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar continues to vigorously lobby UK Ministers, OFGEM and DECC for parity of Transmission Charging which will, in turn, allow developers to underwrite the cost of the proposed 450MW Radial Connector and extend the Grid to the islands. 4.3 Notwithstanding short term connectivity issues, the marine renewable energy sector is beginning to move with 50MW of seabed leases issued by The Crown Estate in recent months. This should allow the deployment of demonstrator units by 2014, building up to full scale commercial deployment by the end of this decade. POTENTIAL GENERATION CAPACITY 5.1 A total of 462.2MW of renewable electricity generation is now operational, consented, in planning or in advanced development in the islands: • Arnish Moor Windfarm 3.9MW (operational) • Pentland Road Windfarm 15MW (consented and in procurement) • Beinn Mhor Power 140MW (consented) • Stornoway Windfarm 150MW (in advanced planning) • Pairc Windfarm 78MW (in planning) • Seven Community Schemes 21.3MW (mostly consented) • Siadar Wave Energy Project 4MW (consented) • Marine Leases 50MW (in development) 5.2 This represents a total of 462.2MW, more than the 450MW capacity proposed for the initial Radial Connector which should be installed and energised by October 2015. Scottish Hydro Electric [Transmission] Limited (SHETL) have sought consent from OFGEM for the installation of a second, parallel 450MW cable over the land section between Beauly and Little Loch Broom to obviate re-excavation of a highly designated land environment. With the straightforward addition of a submarine section at a future date, this effectively doubles the potential capacity of connection to the Outer Hebrides. However, it should be noted that this second cable will represent a convenient connection point for future onshore schemes in the North of Scotland or offshore schemes in the North Minch. One offshore windfarm of 100 turbines can now account for 600MW of electricity transmission. INTERCONNECTION 6.1 As stated above, SHETL, as Transmission Owner for the North of Scotland propose to instal a 450MW (upgreadeable to 900MW) Radial Connector between the Main Interconnected Transmission System (MITS) at Beauly and Gravir on the east coast of Lewis with a subsea spur to Arnish Point, Stornoway. Since this Radial Connector is classified as non-MITS ‘Local Works’, the private developers who propose to use it are required to underwrite its £400m cost in full. 6.2 While Transmission Charges remain at their current, prohibitive level (see section 7 below), the viability of island projects is threatened and local developers are reluctant to confirm underwriting. It has been estimated that, under the current Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) regime, a 150MW windfarm in Lewis would be charged a £15m per annum levy for export to Grid of its electricity. This compares to a £4m levy for the same windfarm in Skye and a ‘negative charge’, or subsidy, for generators in the South East of England. 6.3 Providing local developers confirm underwriting by the summer of 2012, SHETL will proceed with procurement of the cable(s) and, allowing three summers for build, the new Radial Connector will be commissioned in October 2015. If underwriting fails for any reason, the islands face the real prospect of no Radial Connector, no commercial renewable energy development and a greatly reduced socioeconomic impact. 6.4 The Comhairle continues to work with the major developers and National Grid to ensure that the conditions exist for delivery of the Radial Connector. One small victory in this respect was the agreement in principle of National Grid to review their underwriting formula to reduce the initial liability of island developers by a factor of ten. While this is helpful, developers will still decline to underwrite while excessive Transmission Charges threaten the long term viability of their schemes. TRANSMISSION CHARGES 7.1 Largely due to pressure from the Scottish Islands, OFGEM agreed to review the entire system of Transmission Charges during 2011. The current system is cost reflective and ostensibly reflects the capital cost of providing Grid infrastructure in different areas of the country. However, with a Transmission Charge almost four times that of the North of Scotland mainland, the islands are effectively disadvantaged and the Comhairle has relentlessly lobbied for parity of treatment in respect of these charges. 7.2 Project TransmiT, OFGEM’s review of Transmission Charges, is moving slowly to a conclusion but, despite extensive lobbying at all levels, there is little to suggest that the island situation will improve. Through Project TransmiT modelling, the mainland North of Scotland charge has dropped by 60% but the Outer Hebrides charge has dropped by only 20%, opening the differential between the two areas from a factor of four to a factor of seven. Comhairle representatives have, nevertheless, received assurances from UK Energy Minister, Charles Hendry MP, that the island situation will be resolved and, on 13 January 2012, Comhairle representatives contributed to an influential discussion session on island Transmission Charging convened by the Scottish Energy Minister. Officers will now liaise with colleagues in the Scottish Government, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Shetland Islands Council and Orkney Islands Council to develop a solution for the islands for presentation to OFGEM, probably based around a ‘network sharing discount’ for intermittent generators. A less satisfactory fallback might be intervention by the UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change who is empowered under Section 185 of the Energy Act 2004 to ‘adjust’ Transmission Charges in areas where they are demonstrably blocking renewable energy development. 7.3 Given the growing political pressure for a solution, officers are reasonably confident that Transmission Charges for the islands will reduce, enabling local developers to underwrite the cost of the Radial Connector. MARINE RENEWABLE ENERGY 8.1 During 2010, Marine Scotland undertook an extensive Regional Locational Guidance (RLG) exercise in order to identify optimum deployment areas for the Scottish Government’s £10m Saltire Prize programme. The Saltire Prize will go to the first team to continuously generate - over a two year period ending in 2017 - the highest level of electricity, over a minimum hurdle of 100GW/hr, from the power of the sea. Marine Scotland’s RLG mapped the area around Scotland’s coast using multiple layers to reflect wave resource, tide resource, environmental constraints, defence safeguarding, commercial shipping, leisure activity, aviation / weather radar, fishing, wrecks, cable routes and so on. The result of this mapping was the identification of two areas as preferred sites for Saltire Prize deployments – West of Hebrides and West of Shetland. This designation has accelerated the level of interest in the Atlantic resource west of Lewis with several global companies now scoping in the region. 8.2 The Crown Estate, who are partners in the Saltire Prize programme, have since granted seabed leases to
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Surfing and the Future of Scotlands Seas
    Scottish Marine Recreational Resources: Surfing and the Future of Scotland’s Seas PREPARED 23 Jan 2013 Prepared by W. Watson The Scottish Surfing Federation January 2013 Contents Forward..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3 1) Understanding Changes in the Marine Environment.....................................................................................................................................4 1.1) What is RenewaBle Energy? ........................................................................................................................................................................4 1.2) So what is the scale of Scotland’s Renewable Industry? .................................................................................................................6 1.3) The Units of Power and Energy in layman’s terms............................................................................................................................6 1.4) Benchmarking Power CaPacities of existing Scottish Power SuPPlies .....................................................................................7 1.5) The History of Scotlands Renewables – The Hydro Schemes 1900 - 2000.............................................................................7 1.6) Onshore Wind 2000 - 2012..........................................................................................................................................................................8
    [Show full text]
  • (SEUPB) Mid Term Evaluation of the INTERREG IVA Programme Final
    Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) Mid Term Evaluation of the INTERREG IVA Programme Final Report October 2013 SEUPB Mid Term Evaluation of INTERREG IVA Final Report October 2013 Table of Contents 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE AND STUDY APPROACH ...................................................................... 2 1.3 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................. 5 2 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 12 2.1 INTRODUCTION/SCOPE OF THIS REPORT ................................................................................ 12 2.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE ............................................................................................................... 12 2.3 PROGRAMME BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................... 13 2.4 CHANGES IN DELIVERY STRUCTURES/PROCESSES FROM THE LAST PROGRAMME ........ 24 2.5 EVALUATION METHODOLOGY AND REPORT STRUCTURE ..................................................... 25 3 STRATEGIC CONTEXT ............................................................................................................... 30 3.1 INTRODUCTION
    [Show full text]
  • A Low Carbon Economy ‘
    A Low Carbon Economic Strategy for Scotland Scotland – A Low Carbon Society A Low Carbon Economic Strategy for Scotland Scotland – A Low Carbon Society The Scottish Government, Edinburgh, 2010 © Crown copyright 2010 ISBN: 978-0-7559-9759-6 The Scottish Government St Andrew’s House Edinburgh EH1 3DG Produced for the Scottish Government by APS Group Scotland DPPAS10931 (11/10) Published by the Scottish Government, November 2010 A Low Carbon Economy ‘.. as the world moves shakily into the economic recovery phase, I see investment in the green economy as a key to that general world recovery... Current economic difficulties should be a spur and not a hindrance to that effort... I see the current economic difficulties as a spur to getting this green economic revolution right.’ (The Rt. Hon Alex Salmond MSP, First Minister addressing the Low Carbon Investment Conference 28 September.) Contents Page Ministerial Foreword 4 Section 1 The Strategy 1.1 Towards a Low Carbon Economy 6 1.2 A Low Carbon Economic Strategy for Scotland 10 1.3 Strategic Objectives and Immediate Actions 20 Section 2 – Sector Focus 2.1 Transformation across the whole Economy 30 2.2 Transforming the Energy Sector 43 2.3 Transforming the Built Environment 58 2.4 Decarbonising Transport 69 2.5 Scotland’s Resources 78 Low Carbon Economic Indicators for Scotland 89 Ministerial Foreword On 22 March 2010, the Scottish Government published the discussion paper Towards a Low Carbon Economy, which outlined the Scottish Government’s plans to move towards a low carbon economy in Scotland, as part of the overarching Government Economic Strategy.
    [Show full text]
  • Industry Analysis: Wave Power Technology
    Industry Analysis: Wave Power Technology TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Executive Summary.................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 4 R e p o r t S c o p e ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Renewable Wave Energy Assumptions .......................................................................................................... 4 R e p o r t Structure ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: UK Wave Energy Market ................................................................................................. 6 Market Size and Growth ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Key Competitors ....................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Developing the Marine Energy Sector in Scotland: a View from the Islands Thomas Neal Mcmillin University of Mississippi
    University of Mississippi eGrove Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors Theses Honors College) 2014 Developing the Marine Energy Sector in Scotland: A View from the Islands Thomas Neal McMillin University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis Part of the American Studies Commons Recommended Citation McMillin, Thomas Neal, "Developing the Marine Energy Sector in Scotland: A View from the Islands" (2014). Honors Theses. 912. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/912 This Undergraduate Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College) at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEVELOPING THE MARINE ENERGY SECTOR IN SCOTLAND: A VIEW FROM THE ISLANDS _____________________ NEAL MCMILLIN DEVELOPING THE MARINE ENERGY SECTOR IN SCOTLAND: A VIEW FROM THE ISLANDS by Thomas Neal McMillin, Jr. A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Mississippi in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Oxford 2014 Approved by _________________________________ Advisor: Dr. Andy Harper _________________________________ Reader: Dr. Jay Watson _________________________________ Reader: Dr. John Winkle 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS If you need an idea, you may be wise to take a hot shower. I conceived the genesis of this project during one of these. I realized that to apply for the Barksdale Award, I needed to focus on something which I had both experienced and cared about. From that thought, I realized that Scotland and water were my two topics to research.
    [Show full text]
  • Annex a List of Project Questionnaires
    Annex A List of project questionnaires: Questionnaires for E 149a and E 149b - Natural Hydro Energy "Project Highway" and Natural Hydro Energy "Project Store" Questionnaire for E 150- MAREX (MAYO ATLANTIC RENEWABLE ENERGY EXPORT) Questionnaire for E 151 - Project CAES Lame N1 Questionnaire for E 152 - Renewable Integration Development Project Questionnaire for E 153 - Grid Link Questionnaire for E 154- Ireland - Great Britain Interconnector Questionnaire for E 155 - North South 400 kV Interconnection development Questionnaire for E 156 - Greenwire Interconnector Questionnaire for E 291 - ISLES (Irish Scottish Links on Energy Study) # Natural •Hydro Energy Natural Hydro Energy Ireland Questionnaire II response (Project Highway) Interconnection with the UK Market via DC link 1,200MW (this project NHE "Project Highway") to serve Large Scale Hydro Storage (90,000MWhrs) (separate project NHE "Project Store" subject of a separate application) Please NOTE The Natural Hydro Energy overall project consists of two parts: 1. HVDC cable Interconnection between Ireland and the UK, not included in current TYNDPs, is covered by Questionnaire II (NHE Project Highway) and 2. Large scale Hydro Storage facility (NHE Project Store) is covered by Questionnaire III. This overall project has been in development for three years. It is at an advanced stage of planning. In this response, for clarity of understanding, Natural Hydro Energy (NHE) gives details of both aspects of this project. NHE responds to the similar questions raised in both questionnaires and the one additional question raised in Questionnaire III as a separate project. 1 •Hydro Energy Only the DC Transmission link relevant to Questionnaire II need be considered in this response.
    [Show full text]
  • Outer Hebrides Energy Strategy
    SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 18 JUNE 2014 OUTER HEBRIDES ENERGY STRATEGY Report by the Director of Development PURPOSE OF REPORT To present a finalised draft of the Outer Hebrides Energy Strategy. COMPETENCE 1.1 There are no legal or other constraints to the recommendations being implemented. The costs associated with commissioning the audit of energy supply and demand in the Outer Hebrides will be funded from Departmental Budgets. SUMMARY 2.1 The development of an Outer Hebrides Energy Strategy is included as an action within the ‘Outer Hebrides Economic Regeneration Strategy 2012-2020’. A consultative version of the Outer Hebrides Energy Strategy was developed in January 2014 and, following a consultation exercise, a final draft is appended to the Report. 2.2 The strategy provides a framework within which to draw together a range of diverse but inter-related strands of activity, allowing us to clarify and monitor progress on the energy- related aspirations of the Comhairle and its Community Planning partners. Its overarching objectives are to maximise the economic benefits of renewable generation to the Outer Hebrides, increase our self-sufficiency in meeting our energy needs, and address levels of fuel poverty in the islands. 2.3 Following comments on the consultative draft by the Comhairle’s Energy Member Officer Working Group, the document was circulated to the following organisations: HIE (Core and Outer Hebrides) Scottish Natural Heritage Skills Development Scotland Stornoway Port Authority Lews Castle College Comhairle Development Services Community Energy Scotland Comhairle Economic Development Hebridean Housing Partnership Tighean Innse Gall 2.4 There was a good level of engagement with the consultation and some high quality feedback was received and incorporated into the final draft.
    [Show full text]
  • Powering Scotland's Future
    Argyll and Bute Renewable Energy Action Plan – 2010 to 2013 Powering Scotland’s Future 1. Our Vision, Approach and Priorities The Renewable Energy Action Plan has been developed to assist Argyll and Bute’s Community Planning Partners to realise their vision for the development of the renewable energy sector. The vision is: “Argyll and Bute will be at the heart of renewable energy development in Scotland by taking full advantage of its unique and significant mix of indigenous renewable resources and maximising the opportunities for sustainable economic growth for the benefit of its communities and Scotland.” Given Argyll and Bute’s significant and distinguished track record of pioneering and delivering renewable energy projects, we are well placed to respond to the pressing timelines for the development of this industry and take advantage of the economic opportunities being offered to our communities from renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Action Plan (REAP), which provides a co-ordinating framework for action, is centred round the three ‘C’s themes of: • Connected Argyll and Bute; • Competitive Argyll and Bute; • Collaborative Argyll and Bute. REAP sets out the key actions required to further develop the renewable energy sectors currently present in Argyll and Bute to secure the sustainable harnessing of our resource and to take advantage of the significant opportunities being offered by the rapidly evolving marine and off shore wind renewable sector. Our priorities and related actions for renewable energy development are grouped under the three “C”s as noted above. Figure 1.1 highlights the framework within which the REAP has been developed.
    [Show full text]
  • Study on Lessons for Ocean Energy Development
    Study on Lessons for Ocean Energy Development Annexes to the Final Report April – 2017 Study on Lessons for Ocean Energy Development EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Research & Innovation Directorate G – Energy Unit G.3 – Renewable Energy Sources Contact: Dr. Ir. Matthijs SOEDE E-mail: [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels 2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Study on Lessons for Ocean Energy Development Annexes to the Final Report Directorate-General for Research & Innovation Study on Lessons for Energy Development 2017 EUR 27984 EN Study on Lessons for Ocean Energy Development EUROPE DIRECT is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you) LEGAL NOTICE This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017 Pdf KI-NB-27-984-EN-N ISBN 978-92-79-68866-9 ISSN 1831-9424 DOI 10.2777/241688 © European Union, 2017 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 4 Study on Lessons for Ocean Energy Development OVERVIEW This document contains all the Annexes of the Final Report of the Study on Lessons for
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Technoscientific Citizenship in a Low-Carbon Scotland
    UNDERSTANDING TECHNOSCIENTIFIC CITIZENSHIP IN A LOW-CARBON SCOTLAND Beverley Jane Gibbs BEng(Hons) MBA MA CEng MIMMM Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy JULY 2015 DEDICATION .....to the kindest man I ever knew - my Dad, Martin Young (1935 – 2012) ....and to my postgrad mentor and - for this studentship – referee, Stephen Regan (1962-2010) Athair agus oide, beirt Éireannach go smior, a bhí ina réalt eolais domsa ABSTRACT Public engagement with science and technology is a vibrant topic of interest in the United Kingdom, offering promises of democratic and informed governance and a supportive and trusting public. In this context, the idea of ‘scientific citizenship’ is gaining ground, though it remains nebulous in both theory and practice with contested, overlapping and unarticulated representations of its origins, meaning and purpose. The aim of this thesis is to unpack the notion of scientific citizenship, in particular, questions relating to: who counts as a scientific citizen, what rights do they have as citizens and how are scientific citizens meant to engage with science. This aim is achieved exploring the status of scientific citizenship in the context of public engagement with science activities and low-carbon transition strategies in Scotland. With some of the most ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in the world, the generation and use of energy in Scotland is a pervasive and technology-intensive area of public policy where one can anticipate varying rationales for involving the public. This thesis draws on a wide empirical field that constitutes public engagement with low- carbon technologies in Scotland, and considers practice and policy in the light of relevant literatures.
    [Show full text]
  • A European Supergrid
    House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee A European Supergrid Seventh Report of Session 2010–12 Volume II Additional written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be published 7 September 2011 Published on 22 September 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited The Energy and Climate Change Committee The Energy and Climate Change Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department of Energy and Climate Change and associated public bodies. Current membership Mr Tim Yeo MP (Conservative, South Suffolk) (Chair) Dan Byles MP (Conservative, North Warwickshire) Barry Gardiner MP (Labour, Brent North) Ian Lavery MP (Labour, Wansbeck) Dr Phillip Lee MP (Conservative, Bracknell) Albert Owen MP (Labour, Ynys Môn) Christopher Pincher MP (Conservative, Tamworth) John Robertson MP (Labour, Glasgow North West) Laura Sandys MP (Conservative, South Thanet) Sir Robert Smith MP (Liberal Democrat, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton Test) The following members were also members of the committee during the parliament: Gemma Doyle MP (Labour/Co-operative, West Dunbartonshire) Tom Greatrex MP (Labour, Rutherglen and Hamilton West) Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/parliament.uk/ecc.
    [Show full text]
  • Outer Hebrides Ports and Harbours Study
    SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: 13 JUNE 2012 OUTER HEBRIDES PORTS AND HARBOURS STUDY Report by Director of Development PURPOSE OF REPORT The Comhairle requires to commission the services of specialist consultants to assess the feasibility of Outer Hebrides harbours as support bases for the emerging Marine Renewable Energy industry West of Hebrides. This report seeks authorisation to proceed to procurement. COMPETENCE 1.1 There are no legal, financial or other constraints to the recommendations being implemented. SUMMARY 2.1 The area West of Hebrides is quickly gaining prominence as Europe’s area of best resource for the generation of electricity from waves. This view is confirmed by the Scottish Government and The Crown Estate who recently designated West of Hebrides as one of only two preferred deployment areas for the Scottish Government’s prestigious £10m Saltire Prize, awarded to the first developer to generate 100MW/hr over a continuous two year period from the power of the sea. 2.2 Regional Locational Guidance from the Scottish Government also confirms that the seas around the Outer Hebrides could become a very important area for the deployment of Offshore Wind arrays. The Comhairle is already in discussion with Statoil over this potential and each Statoil installation is capable of generating up to 600MW. 2.2 In order to maximise supply chain benefits from the growing Marine Renewable Energy industry West of Hebrides, it is important that a detailed inventory of local port facilities is available for developers aiming to deploy there. This will allow thee developers to identify ports which can be used immediately but will also provide a guide to investment as these ports are upgraded to keep pace with a rapidly expanding industry.
    [Show full text]