News archive - Week ending 14th March 2008

Porridge Power

The Quaker plant near Cupar in Fife, which produces Scott's Porage Oats, is to be powered by oat husks left over from the porridge making process. Overall £6 million is to be spent on making the plant carbon-neutral.

Although the new boiler will be about five times more expensive than a conventional fossil fuel plant, it is anticipated that the steam and electricity produced will reduce carbon emissions by 9000 tonnes a year; equivalent to the amount produced by 3000 cars. Surplus power will be released to the National Grid, saving a further 1800 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually for the first three years. The scheme will also cut out the need to transport husks away from the site; this alone accounts for 172,000 miles and 600 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

Wind Farms Unlikely to Deter Tourist

Three quarters of tourists surveyed for the study 'Economic Impacts of Wind Farms on Scottish Tourism' felt wind farms had a positive or neutral effect on the landscape and almost all those questioned said that wind farms had little or no impact on their decision to visit Scotland.

The study, carried out by Glasgow Caledonian University, focused on the possible impact of wind farms on tourism in Caithness and Sutherland, Stirling, Perth and Kinross, the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. Researchers estimated the likely impact on local tourism by 2015 if all the wind farms needed to meet the renewables target were built, compared to no further developments. The survey involved 380 tourists in the different case study areas, and an additional 600 UK and 100 US residents on the internet and using geographical analysis.

The report includes a worst case scenario but overall it concludes that the two sectors can exist together. Translating the findings into economics the study shows that extensive wind farm developments would cause an estimated reduction in revenue growth of 0.18 per cent of tourist spending by 2015, which equates to £7.6 million of expenditure against current tourism revenues of £4.2 billion. Caithness and Sutherland could lose 30 jobs and £700,000 and Stirling, Perth and Kinross could be down £6.3m and 339 jobs the Borders could lose 81 jobs and £1.7m, and 277 jobs and £4.1m in and Dumfries and Galloway.

Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Minister, Jim Mather, welcomed the findings. He said: "This research confirms that this government's ambitious targets on renewable energy and tourism are entirely compatible. It provides further evidence to support our approach to progress the right developments in the right location.

Renewable Energy for Water Treatment

A renewable energy project at the University of Edinburgh is among the latest recipients of support from the Scottish Enterprise's Proof of Concept Programme.
The projects, which are the final five project to be awarded support in Round 8 of the Programme, were chosen as they have the potential to result in innovative spin-out companies and/or licensing agreements to existing businesses, which will ultimately help grow Scotland's economy. Each project awarded support has to demonstrate the quality of the research idea and the market demand for the resulting product or service.
The Edinburgh research involves a process that cleans and treats seawater and groundwater using renewable energy from the sun or wind. The process will also remove inorganic pollutants such as arsenic, fluoride, uranium, nitrate and other compounds which can be responsible for health problems.

New Degree in Sustainable Construction

UHI Millennium Institute, the University of the Highlands and Islands, has unveiled plans to launch an innovative science degree, focussed on sustainable construction. The
online BSc, which was developed in consultation with an industry working group, hopes to draw industry professionals from across UK. It will include new legislation, renewable energy production, equipment and systems, as well as waste management and other sustainable challenges for new builds and conversions.

Stephen Sheridan of ConstructionSkills said: 'It was vital that ConstructionSkills, Scottish Building Federation and professionals from across the industry worked closely with the team to help to develop the programme. We can be sure that it will meet industry requirements and also have a real impact on meeting the Scottish government's ambitions for sustainable economic growth within the Highlands.'

Support and Praise for Community Recycling

Speaking at the Community Recycling Network Service (CRNS) annual conference in Perth, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead announced £2.5 million funding in each of the next three years to support community recycling projects.

He said, "We are now seeking innovative applications from not-for-profit projects which work to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Previous community-led projects have included recycling mattresses, selling recycled glass products and reusing carpets. The support for community recycling has four strands: grants for waste prevention; grants for enterprise (recycling); small grants (under £5,000) and capacity building. The waste prevention; enterprise (recycling) and small grants have opened for applications; capacity building support will open shortly.
Meanwhile community groups were recognised for their recycling efforts. The overall CRNS Member of the Year award went to Moray Recycling Action Group for its furniture reuse project, The Green Home, which collects all types of unwanted household items and reallocates it to others through their Buckie-based retail outlet. Also nominated were Glasgow-based Spruce Carpets, Fife-based Furniture Plus, and Mull and Iona Community Trust's Mess Project. The Innovation Award was won by Shetland Amenity Trust's Enviroglass, a project which has virtually eliminated Shetland's waste-glass problem by using all the glass waste in paving slabs. Highland Council won the Local Authority Partnership Award for its continued support for the community recycling sector through Waste Diversion agreements, which is diverting 4000 tonnes of waste from landfill disposal this year.