David Ross Highland Correspondent ELECTRICITY is flowing through the first 30 miles of a highly controversial transmission line for the first time, three years after it was approved and after almost a decade of bitter debate. ENERGY: A workman at Beauly power station, where the line was powered up. Scottish Read more
David Ross Highland Correspondent PLANS by ministers to ensure sustainable use of the seas around Scotland have been welcomed by environmentalists but the RSPB still has concerns. This week it published figures of decline among some seabird populations of up to 87%, and says Scottish Government proposals for Marine Protected Read more
Coal made up well over one-third of the UK’s electricity generation in 2012, as cheap supplies and the collapse in the price of carbon permits sent generators rushing back to their ageing coal-fired power stations and set greenhouse gas emissions rising sharply. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/25/coal-one-third-uk-energy
English-based friends and associates of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who objected to plans for a wind turbine near her former Scottish home, have been dismissed as “King’s Road aristocrats” by a local councillor in favour of the scheme. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10201856/Councillor-dismisses-Kings-Road-artistrocrats-objecting-to-wind-farm-near-Queen-Mothers-castle.html
German coal-fired power plants have been operating in full swing in the first half of 2013. Lignite and hard coal power plants and gas plants produced 12.4 percent more power than last year. In contrast, wind turbines and solar panels delivered less electricity. German greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Read more
The boss of one of Britain’s biggest energy companies has warned that the Government’s new plan to stave off the growing threat of blackouts could increase the risk of the lights going out. http://www.thegwpf.org/uk-power-companies/
German utility E.ON is considering dismantling some European power plants that have been mothballed because of poor profitability and relocating them to faster-growing emerging markets such as Turkey, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. http://www.thegwpf.org/germanys-biggest-energy-company-considers-fleeing-europe/
Wind farm campaigners have accused the Ministry of Defence of attacking the economy of the Western Isles by effectively imposing a ban against turbines. http://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/233977-council-at-odds-with-mod-over-plans-for-wind-turbines-on-uist/