The World's First ‘Hydro-economy'?

"This is a pivotal turning point in human history, on a par with the move from hunter-gathering to settled agricultural communities or the discovery of the New World in 1492," Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond said. "We must bring a new economy into existence to redress the balance of the old. And unlike the discovery of the new world of America, this new world of energy will be gained not by force and conquest but by innovation and ingenuity."

In setting the highest clean energy production goal of any industrialised nation, essentially doubling the 50% commitment by 2020 that Scotland made last year and increasing the 80% goal he had set earlier this past September, Salmond was relying on Scotland's considerable fresh and seawater resources to attain it. The proposed 100% by 2025 target came just weeks after Salmond, an enthusiast for renewable energy development, unveiled a legislative plan. If approved, the plan would allow Scottish Water (the state-owned utility) to invest in renewable hydro energy projects as well as wind farms and ‘green' power stations.

In his statement, he said that tapping green energy will help beat the recession and turn Scotland into "the world's first hydro-economy." He described Scotland's existing hydro industry as "arguably the most successful hydro scheme in the world," and the country's water as "our greatest natural asset."

Some authorities in Scotland have however expressed reservations about the proposed path to the new clean energy goal. Peter Pollard, an expert at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the country's environmental regulator, said it is doubtful that Scotland's fresh water can drive its transition to a clean energy economy.

Considered the most mature among the renewable energy technologies, hydropower in Scotland developed in the 1950s and 1960s (long before climate change considerations were integrated into engineering schemes, legislative policies and investment plans).

However, Scotland has saturated most of its potential for big hydro development and its geography does not favour the construction of many more big hydro schemes. Even with the projected increase in precipitation as a result of climate change, Scotland's reservoirs are unlikely to capture the more intense rainfall in the wet periods of the year. Indeed, the current trend points toward a rapid increase in the number of small hydropower schemes in the country, but their total energy output will remain small, Pollard said. Since April 2006, SEPA has authorised 80 to 90 new schemes (roughly 20-30 a year) but 80% of these have an installed capacity of just 1MW.

While hydropower generation is unlikely to grow much, wind and wave development are quickly advancing in Scotland. "Scotland is doing extremely well, particularly compared to other parts of the UK," said David Clubb, renewable energy project manager at the European Environment Agency. "And they are obviously also looking very hard at marine renewables because they've got a fantastic wave and tidal resource."

Situated on an island in Western Europe, Scotland can tap strong winds and harness tidal streams for energy. According to the Scottish Government, the country has an estimated 10% of Europe's wave power and 25% of its tidal power, putting it at the forefront of this emerging sector. In May this year, a study commissioned by the UK government and a group of industry organisations estimated that using a third of the UK's wind, wave and tidal resource by 2050 could generate the electricity equivalent of 1 billion barrels of oil annually, matching the current North Sea oil and gas production. Exactly how this renewable potential could be deployed, and at what cost and investment risk, currently remains under question.

Source: Circle of Blue