UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE - Wind Energy Network

SPONSORS OF EAST OF SCOTLAND
Scotland’s
Offshore
Wind
Story
Scotland has relied on the North Sea
as a source of energy for more than
forty years with the oil and gas sector
reaping the benefits of the natural
resources we have. While it is widely
accepted that fossil fuels will one day
run out, that doesn’t mean we will no
longer be an energy rich nation. Wind,
wave, tidal and hydro power provide
a significant proportion of our needs
and will continue to do so for many
years. We have had a strong
story to tell in terms of energy
production in this country, but
it’s time for a new chapter
to begin, and offshore
wind is about to
make its big
entrance.
Once again, Scotland will look to the
hostile marine environments of the north
seas to harness its energy, this time it’s
not what’s under the seabed that counts
but the wild winds that cut across it.
Current offshore wind situation
Currently there is 190 MW (megawatts) of
offshore wind in operation – the Beatrice
demonstrator project and Robin Rigg with
another 10GW (gigawatts) of resource
earmarked for development around the
coast. 2012 has seen the industry take
huge steps forward to delivering this,
with applications being submitted from
Neart na Gaoithe, SeaGreen MORL and
BOWL. We now have almost 4.5GW in
the planning system already. If all of this
capacity became operational, offshore
wind would overtake hydro power as the
second largest contributor to renewable
electricity in Scotland with onshore wind
remaining the primary source. All going to
plan, we hope to see the first of the
new offshore turbines erected around
2014 and generating electricity
before 2017.
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