Waving, not drowning

06Nov06

Taken from Holyrood Magazine

The concept of renewable energy is not a new one; humans have been harnessing the power of water since the Middle Ages, when turbines were used to turn mills. But the massive leap in science and technology in the last 20 years has successfully batted off niggles of inefficiency and the lack of durability that had been plaguing marine renewable developers since the idea came to fruition in the 1970’s – and Scotland, is at the forefront.

Wave energy was first researched after the energy crisis of the early 1970s and the Pelamis, Latin for sea serpent, which will be the machinery behind the world’s first commercial wave farm, stands on the shoulders of a design pioneered by the Edinburgh scientist, Prof. Stephen Salter, called the ‘Salter Duck.’

The 750 kilowatt device built by the Scottish company Ocean Power Deliveries ltd is 150 metres long, 3.5 metres in diameter and in five sections. Each Pelamis unit is expected to deliver enough energy for 500 households and in the first phase the three Pelamis machines together will displace 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be emitted by conventional power stations. However, the Pelamis wave farm will not be providing energy to the Scottish national grid, but to the Portuguese.

Developing new energy technology is a long and expensive process which needs a considerable amount of government investment and incentives. The green certificates offered to energy providers by the Executive for each unit of alternative energy do not differentiate between the types of energy. Consequently, wind energy which has already been developed for over two decades and whose running costs have fallen by 80%, receives the same benefits as less mature technologies.

Shiona Baird MSP, Green speaker on energy said:

“Pelamis went to Portugal, and Spain and South Africa are also forging ahead with marine power, largely because the Executive has not adequately supported the development of the technology.

“Ministers have given crumbs of support but, given that there are potentially 5000 jobs in this sector, their actions so far fail to live up to their claim of wanting to make Scotland the renewables powerhouse of Europe.”

Portugal on the other hand has taken the highland cow by the horns and has been quick to prioritize exploitation of its wave energy resource and to recognize the commercial opportunity that it represents. Surfing on the crest of this novel technology, the Portuguese government has put in place a feeder market that pays a premium price for electricity generated from waves compared to established renewable sources. An identical approach was used to stimulate wind industry investment in Denmark and Germany, which now boasts a collective turnover of over EUR 12 billion a year and employs 60,000 people worldwide.

Unsurprisingly, OPD says that it has no reason to stay in Scotland, and no option but to take the company abroad to Portugal if the Executive’s policies don’t change. But speaking shortly after a visit to the Pelamis wave energy project at Peniche in Portugal, deputy first Minister and Enterprise Minister Nicol Stephens said:

“Our aim is for a new green credits support system to be in place by the spring of 2007,”

When it comes into force, marine power generators will get an additional fund as part of a new scheme called the Marine Supply Obligation that works within the Renewables Obligation (Scotland).

Richard Yemm, the Managing Director of OPD said:

“The MSO proposed by Nicol Stephen has been carefully crafted to provide the necessary incentives to drive wave energy projects in Scotland, while safeguarding the interests of, and minimizing the cost to consumers.

“However, OPD warns that the industry is likely to begin to drift abroad if the current proposals are delayed significantly, or are scrapped due to last minute opposition. The company is already coming under pressure to manufacture future machines for Portugal in that country, and if the Portuguese market accelerates as anticipated, without a parallel opportunity in Scotland, it is likely that over the coming years the Pelamis wave energy converter will become a Portuguese manufactured system.”

Stephens said he was determined to see marine renewable devices operating in Scottish waters by the summer of 2007.

Scotland plods on to meet its self set target of obtaining 40% of its energy needs from renewable sources by the year 2020. But with countries such as Sweden tearing ahead with proposals of an entirely oil and nuclear-free state in the same timeframe, one has to question whether as a leading world voice in the fight against climate change, Scotland is doing enough.

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