News archive - Week ending 31st September 2007

The Greenest University in Scotland

The University of Glasgow has been ranked the most environmentally friendly education institution in Scotland and the second in Europe; the University of Leeds was in tenth place. In one of its 'Top 15' lists, Grist, a leading environmental website, puts the University of Glasgow in fourteenth place in the world. The website highlights the fact that almost 45% of the University's electricity comes from renewable sources.

Bert Young, Energy Conservation Officer at the University, said: "Energy efficiency and environmental factors have always been an important issue for the University of Glasgow and particularly so in light of current concerns over climate change. Our record for achieving our goals for sustainability is exemplary and as Grist highlights, we are always the lookout for new ways to reduce our overall energy use."

The University of Glasgow's record for sustainability dates back to 1998 when it was the first Scottish higher education institution to receive energy-efficiency accreditation from the Institute of Energy. The University is also recognised by Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement (HEEPI) for its sustainable procurement practices for ensuring that construction of new buildings involves energy assessment and energy-saving designs.

Designs Unveiled for Aberdeen's Energy Centre

Aberdeen City Council has released designs for the seafront Energy Futures Centre, which would bring together Aberdeenshire's world-class energy development expertise in oil and gas and renewables.

The Centre, which the council hopes will be a flagship for both Aberdeen and Scotland, would be used as a science centre, a base for energy organisations and a public space for education in energy science.

It had been intended that the Centre would also be the base for the Energy Technologies Institute but it now appears that this may be located in Glasgow. The project was discussed in a private session by members of the resources management committee, however the plans have been made public by the council and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, which is heading the project. The council will be making a contribution of £100,000 to the preparation of a business case.

Southern Uplands Wind Farm Approved

Plans for a new wind farm on a hillside in the Southern Uplands have been approved by Dumfries and Galloway councillors but Airtricity had to reduce the number of turbines from 13 to 11 as a condition of planning consent. The £32m wind energy project will be built on Whiteside hill, about four miles south-west of Sanquhar. The council approved the plans despite concerns from objectors about the environmental and visual impact of the development.

Are Wind Farms Economically Viable?

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Costing the Earth programme, Michael Jefferson, from the World Renewable Energy Network, claims that wind farms are being built in areas of England, Wales and Scotland without enough wind. He suggests that the government is paying hundreds of millions of pounds to subsidise wind farms that are not economically viable.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) refutes the claims saying they are "nonsense". It says subsidies are not paid for the building of plants, only per unit of electricity to the National Grid. Chief executive of the BWEA Maria McCaffery said: "Nobody in their right mind, not a developer and not the government, would support the building of a wind farm where the wind speeds are not high enough to generate a viable amount of electricity... ... ...The only pertinent figure is the amount of electricity actually supplied and there is a fixed amount of subsidy per unit of energy. You are only subsidised for what you produce."

The government is trying to reach an EU target of 20% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020. Mr Jefferson believes that as a result financial incentives (part of the Renewables Obligation Certificate Scheme) are encouraging firms to site wind farms badly. He suggests that some companies are exaggerating the amount of wind energy a development would supply, particularly in areas of England with relatively little wind like the Midlands and Home Counties. He claims that in these areas the load factor, the average amount of wind a particular spot gets in a year, was not high enough to be viable.

Engineering consultant Jim Oswald told BBC Radio 4 that many turbines were underperforming because wind speeds in Britain were too variable. He said this could lead to major power failures in future if the system was not redesigned. "It's the power swings that worry us. Over a 20-hour period you can go from almost 100% wind output to 20%, he added. But Ms McCaffery said Britain was windier than any other country in Western Europe and most farms would be generating some electricity for 85% of the time. She did however admit that not every wind farm could be located in areas of highest wind speed, but instead the industry had to identify areas where wind speeds were "good enough" to be economically viable.

Mr Jefferson believes money should be put where the wind is and that is quite often not where the development pressure is. Both Mr Jefferson and Mr Oswald criticised the fact that some wind farms in remote areas like northern Scotland were sitting idle because they were not yet connected to the National Grid.

Scottish Environmental Statistics

Scottish Environment Statistics 2007, an overview of environmental attitudes and data show peoples top concern is reducing their impact on climate change. This is the seventh edition of the booklet giving data on the state of the environment, with an emphasis on the trends over time.

The booklet includes the result of a survey in which respondents were asked to rate the relative importance of eight environmental issues facing Scotland. The top three were: reducing contributions to climate change/global warming, addressing how to meet energy needs and increasing recycling levels. Reducing the risk of flooding was ranked least important. Temperatures in Scotland are predicted to rise by 3.5 percent in summer and 2.5 percent in winter by 2100 with corresponding impacts on weather patterns including wetter winters and drier summers.