News archive - May 2008

Week Ending 2nd May 2008

T in the Park Wins Environment Award

The T in the Park festival?s reputation as an exceptionally green festival has been further enhanced as Yourope, the European Festival Association, has granted it the first Green 'n' Clean award in Scotland.

This international award is given to events which conform to a range of environmental criteria, measured across several fields including sustainable management, transportation, waste management, energy efficiency, power and catering. The accolade recognises festivals that actively work to protect the environment, and guarantees that measures to save energy and protect the world's natural resources are effectively implemented and openly communicated.

T in the Park organisers claim it remains the largest carbon-neutral festival in the world. A number of initiatives have been introduced which they hope will reduce the festival's carbon footprint and impact on the environment. Public transport is promoted, partygoers are encouraged to recycle cups and batteries and urged to use only phosphate-free soap to protect the Loch Leven Conservation Area.

Scottish Government Looks to Hydropower

It has been reported that Energy Minister, Jim Mather, is to hold talks with Tom Douglas, a former visiting professor at Strathclyde University and consulting engineer with Mott MacDonald and one of the country's leading experts on hydropower. Following publication of a report on the subject ministers believe that hydropower may be able to help Scotland meet its target of generating 50% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

The problems around securing planning permission for wind farm developments is one factor prompting the renewed interest hydropower. More than 100 sites were identified as suitable for hydro-electric development in the 1940s, but only 29 have been developed; many of the rest remain viable. As part of its work on hydropower, the Scottish government is expected to review the existing undeveloped schemes, as well as consider new projects.

Mr Mather said, ?We are desperately enthusiastic about hydro, keen to do more with it, keen to get a better alignment between communities and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and developers. We're hoping that this report will have that effect.?

Hydropower scheme building peaked in the two decades after the second world war. The only significant addition of the past 50 years is the £140m Glendoe project, near Fort William, which will generate 100megawatts, enough to power a city the size of Glasgow. Across Scotland, hydropower generates 1.3 gigawatts (GW), or 12%, of household use.

Councillors Go Back to Tap Water

Bottled water is no longer to be served to Edinburgh councillors during meetings. From now on, politicians are likely to drink tap water served to them in jugs. The change comes after Councillor Robert Aldridge's was passed at a full council meeting. Last year councillors and officials drank about 4,300 bottles at a cost to taxpayers of more than £2,500.

Regulation of Carbon Capture

The Scottish Government has introduced a Legislative Consent Motion to allow for the introduction of a common framework across the UK for carbon capture and storage. The UK Energy Bill will create a regulatory regime so that carbon captured in power stations or industry can be stored safely under the seabed cutting emissions by up to 90%.

Energy Minister, Jim Mather, said, "Carbon capture and storage has the potential to cut emissions from fossil fuels by 90% and offers a key new technology in the fight against climate change. It could make a significant contribution to our own ambitious target of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050. Scotland already has massive potential - we have the infrastructure to store carbon in the North Sea and the scientific and engineering expertise in our oil and gas industry and our universities. That means we can take a world lead in developing this crucial technology.?

Scottish Ministers will licence storage activity out to 12 nautical miles. And gain influence as the UK Government will have to consult Scottish Ministers for all licences between 12-200 nautical miles in Scottish waters. The Scottish Government and UK Government will work on a Memorandum of Understanding on implementing the common framework and expect to jointly consult on regulations for the licensing regime this summer.

Aberdeen EcoCity Awards

Aberdeen EcoCity Awards 2008 has been launched to recognise projects that protect and improve the local environment. An annual prize of up to £1500 will reward local environmental schemes for their hard work and commitment.

This year?s categories are: individual, business, community, charity and voluntary group and educational body. To be eligible projects must have taken place between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008.

The winner of each category will receive a prize of £500 to spend on an environmental initiative of their choice. The best overall entry will be presented with a special Gold Award and a further prize of £1,000.

Week Ending 9th May 2008

Week Ending 16th May 2008

Farming Must Act on Climate Change

A new report from the Agriculture and Climate Change Stakeholder Group calls for greater awareness of the importance of action on climate change by Scotland's agriculture sector. In particular the report highlights the need for better communication, closer policy integration on land use and improved reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

The group was chaired by Henry Graham, a director of the Scottish Agricultural College who was previously Head of Agribusiness for the Clydesdale Bank. It also included representatives from NFU Scotland, SRPBA, Environment LINK, Macaulay, SCRI, SAC, Forestry Commission Scotland and SEPA, as well as Professor Jeff Maxwell. The remit of the group was to examine the implications for Scottish agriculture of climate change, in terms of both opportunities for adaptation and mitigation actions.

In his Founders Day speech at the College?s Crichton Campus, Environment Minister, Michael Russell, highlighted a number of opportunities that climate change presented to Scottish farmers. Opportunities identified for reducing emissions include:

? making better use of fertilisers and manure/slurry
? reducing soil disturbance
? improved livestock diets
? the use of biomass and biogas to generate heat and/or electricity
? hydro power
? wind power
? improved energy efficiency of machinery and buildings

In addition, the study highlighted opportunities for storing atmospheric carbon, for example through woodland creation, restoration of degraded soils and reduced drainage.

Action on Plastic Carrier Bags

Following a meeting with major retailers, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Richard Lochhead, has announced a new group to consider how to reduce the number of single use carrier bags and promote bags for life. The Scottish Government will lead the Zero Waste Retailers Group which will, include the Scottish Retail Consortium and Waste Aware Scotland. The Group will consider how retailers can best engage with the zero waste agenda.

Mr Lochhead said, "Reducing the unnecessary use of these bags is crucial if we are going to achieve a zero waste society in Scotland. There is already a voluntary agreement in place with retailers and a recent survey showed that some progress has been made. However, more needs to be done, especially if we are to avoid legislation. In Scotland last year we still used over one billion bags.?

?Zero Carbon? Defined

The Construction industry is calling on the UK government to re-write the rules on zero carbon after concluding that three quarters of new homes are unlikely to meet voluntary targets for no carbon emissions.

Government guidelines say off-site renewables do not count when developing zero carbon homes but the UK Green Building Council's zero carbon task group says this is just one of the areas which will need a rethink unless the Government wants developers to miss the targets on over 80% of new homes.

In its report The Definition of Zero Carbon the UKGBC applauds government aspirations and insists it is not asking for a watering down of the targets, but suggests the same end might be reached by more realistic measures.

The report recommends that:

? All new buildings must meet strict minimum energy efficiency standards, both in terms of the building design and household appliances where supplied by developers.
? All new buildings should seek to mitigate carbon emissions from energy use on or near the development. Where this is not possible, a minimum level of carbon mitigation must be met.
? Above this threshold either: Off-site solutions could be allowed provided that they are demonstrably additional and have been built specifically to deliver the energy needs of the development or the developer can pay into a 'Community Energy Fund' that will ensure equal or greater net carbon savings are delivered through new installations.

Wind Turbine Refusal Reversed

The Scottish Government has overturned the decision of Scottish Borders Council's, planning committee to reject a wind farm development application for 10 turbines near Ashkirk. Members of the Committee had refused a planning application by Airtricity on the grounds of its adverse environmental impact and an appeal was lodged against the decision prompting a public inquiry into the Langhope Rig scheme.

A Scottish Government Reporter has upheld that appeal which paves the way for the development to go ahead. The developers have said the project would generate electricity for about 12,000 homes and link to the national grid at Hawick.

Green Jobs Awareness Campaign

Careers Scotland believes that Scotland is on the brink of a green jobs revolution. Among those needed to cope with the renewable energy rush will be engineers, plumbers, wind-turbine technicians, boiler-maintenance technicians, electricians, welders, wind analysts and solar-panel and heat-pump installers. As a result Careers Scotland has started a new campaign, The Path is Green, to raise awareness of the growing green industry and ensure that there are enough skilled workers to fill the posts.

In an advertisement it suggests that the number of jobs in fields such as recycling, conservation and renewables is likely to increase sharply in the next ten years. Already there are an estimated 80,000 jobs in the renewable fields that did not previously exist, with another 50,000 predicted over the next decade.

Funding for Knowledge Transfer Projects

Five projects are to share £2 million worth of grants from the Scottish Government's SEEKIT programe. The funding is to enable researchers to develop groundbreaking knowledge transfer projects, adopting and commercialising new knowledge, technology or business techniques.

Among the successful applicants is the University of Edinburgh (in partnership with the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde), which will receive £396,626 to form RENEW-NET (Renewable Energy Electrical System Technology Transfer), a knowledge exchange network focusing on electrical system design in renewable energy applications.

Wind Turbine Powers Scotland's Tallest Building

A six kilowatt turbine has been installed to offset the electricity needs of the rotating Glasgow Tower, part of the City's science centre and the tallest free standing building in Scotland.

Alasdair Smart, of Glasgow Science Centre, said "The wind turbine is a great way for us to showcase renewable energy technology and let the public learn more about it and see a wind turbine up close. It is part of a range of eco energy education initiatives we have and as Glasgow Science Centre is one of the city's iconic sites, the turbine is attracting lots of attention."

Week Ending 23rd May 2008

Week Ending 30th May 2008

Recycling Increases; But Can Growth Continue?

Scotland has hit its recycling and compost targets for 2008 but questions are being asked about whether this can be repeated for the 2010 targets. New figures from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) show that overall there has been a 4.1% growth in recycling in Scotland between 2006 and 2007. The national rate of 31.2% is just above the target of 30%.

However, while accepting that it is encouraging to see the current milestone reached, SEPA believes that current efforts are unlikely to be enough to meet the challenging targets of 40% by 2010 and 70% by 2025 set out by the Cabinet Minister Richard Lochhead in January this year.

First Tidal Device Connects to National Grid

OpenHydro's turbine is Scotland's first grid-connected tidal device. It has been installed at the European Marine Energy Centre's (EMEC) test site off the island of Eday in Orkney. OpenHydro, an Irish company, installed its device at EMEC in 2006 and has undertaken a series of trials there. The open-centre turbine is designed to be deployed directly on the seabed. It is silent, invisible from the surface and presents no navigational hazard.

Over the next two years, more devices are expected to be tested at EMEC, many of which were awarded support under the Scottish Government's Wave and Tidal Energy Scheme. Energy Minister Jim Mather said, "This is the first time in Scotland that homes will be powered using the energy of the tides - a massive step forward for Scottish research and technology.?

Inverclyde Materials Recycling Facility Praised

The Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) at Inverclyde was among projects receiving bronze awards at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Excellence ceremony. The awards are given to council-run projects that deliver outstanding service to the public.
Since 2005, the local Council transformed an empty shed into one of the most advanced recycling centres in Scotland. The MRF provides a local facility to sort material collected from the kerbside recycling scheme and neighbourhood recycling points. Having a MRF within Inverclyde allows the council to be entirely self-sufficient in terms of waste collection and processing; a considerable achievement as Inverclyde is one of the smallest councils in Scotland. It also means that Inverclyde no longer transports material for recycling to be sorted. Setting up the MRF has also pruduced economic benefits in creating jobs and it provides work experience opportunities for local people.

Hydro Power Plans

The Scottish Sustainable Energy Foundation has published a report looking at the possibility of a hydro electric power scheme for the Borthwick Valley, west of Hawick. It studied costs, output and revenue potential from restoring a reservoir at the Rough Hope burn near Craik.

The SSEF said it believed that such small scale schemes could be of benefit right across the south of Scotland and in this particular case also hoped the project might help alleviate flooding problems in Hawick. SSEF Chief Executive Euan Robson said, "People think that hydro power equals the Highlands.? He added that while large reservoirs may not be appropriate, small scale schemes could fit into the Borders landscape well.

The next stage will be for talks to be held with Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.