Wild Land News no 62, Winter 2004/2005

Windfarm bottleneck Article

By Davie Black Wildland Campaign Officer, Ramblers' Association Scotland.

The government's approach to renewable energy development appears to be in serious difficulty as a result of a failure to address key grid transmission issues. Resolving this issue is likely to lead to a fundamental reappraisal of the location and nature of renewable energy development projects in Scotland. The key problem is that a large new powerline is needed through north west England to transport the energy generated in Scotland to the demand centres further south. The level of public opposition to such a powerline is likely to be enormous and is almost certain to cause a major shift in government policy on reneweables along with a collapse in the confidence of investors who have been supporting industrial-scale windfarms in Scotland.

The "Renewables Network Impacts Study", published by The Carbon Trust and Department of Trade and Industry earlier this year indicates that construction of new powerlines must start in 2004 - (recognised by the report as "extremely difficult") and noting that major reinforcements are needed in Scotland and in the Scotland-England interconnector which represent a "significant bottleneck under the present regulatory framework".

Planning consultations have not even started on a new Scotland - England interconnector and it is very unlikely that the present government would risk an acrimonious debate on such an issue in the run up to the next general election. We are much more likely to see a rearrangement of the financial system which at present delivers huge financial benefits to the industrial-scale onshore windfarm developers. New arrangements are likely which will favour smaller scale, community-based wind projects, and other renewable technologies.

In recognition of these problems, Ramblers Scotland is calling for much more emphasis to be given to marine transmission between Scotland and England. A recent Ramblers Scotland policy statement calls for most long distance transmission in the future to be based on sub-sea cables, not through the construction of new overland routes or by increasing the height of existing pylons. Such long distance transmission should also be used primarily for energy sources that are supplying substantial amounts of power in a reliable and continuous way. This means, for example, that energy generated from tidal or wave power sources in the Western Isles would go direct to Liverpool by sub sea cable and not by a complex , inefficient and intrusive land based powerline system starting on the north or north west coast of Scotland.

For those campaigning against the massive windfarms now appearing on the Scottish hills, with their 100 metre high turbines, the message is clear. Stop the new Scotland - England interconnector and we can say goodbye to the industrialisation of our hills. In its place will come a whole new approach to wind turbines - a recognition that these should be primarily to meet domestic and local community use and properly integrated into the local landscape - such turbines should be well under 100 metres in height and in small groups, located on brownfield sites or land which has already been in cultivation in recent times. The place for 100 metre turbines is well offshore, connected by sub sea cables and short land based powerlines to the energy demand centres of southern Britain.

Links:

The Carbon Trust, 2003. The Carbon Trust & DTI Renewables Network Impact Study
Ramblers' Association Scotland, 2004. Renewable Energy - Policy Statement