News Elsewhere contains mainly articles we have permission to republish from Views of Scotland and Country Guardian. You can learn more about these organisations by visiting: http://www.countryguardian.net/ and http://www.viewsofscotland.org/. Occasionally we will also post news from elsewhere on the web.
Japanese engineers are hoping to build wind turbines that can withstand the world’s worst typhoons, generating power even in the midst of a natural disaster. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200903-the-wind-turbines-standing-up-to-the-worlds-worst-storms?fbclid=IwAR1QiEK_-IqKrTO6ROwTlbiMBulMFEVzDVzXMGvQbSOrKKdAJE5U-Ekrdps
Highland Council The variation application seeks to make the following variation: Extend the operational period of Farr Wind Farm from 25 years to 35 years. ECU00002123 http://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00002123&fbclid=IwAR2mS_uFY_GOTdpuxMgMe6efNDrH4S5j0LL4vFZ34G_pEy35co9jNgUP2pA
Crown Estate Scotland has launched a £500,000 (€557,000) fund to go towards sustainable development of offshore wind in the country as part of its net zero commitment. The funds comprise £300,000 for Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) projects and £200,000 for environmental research. Earlier this year, Crown Estate Scotland Read more
I NOTE an excellent letter from Bill Eadie (Letters, August 31) on missing green energy jobs in Scotland. If I may add another dimension: Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse reiterated the Scottish Government’s position that no nuclear power plants would be built and electricity would be generated from renewable sources. When Read more
There are concerns that a lack of money post-Covid could leave governments unable to make the policy interventions needed to drive the energy transition. Lord Ian Duncan, former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Climate Change, also said the funds required to hit climate targets and commitments will likely have Read more
Rules supporting sustainable development in Scotland will be removed under new Scottish Government proposals – harming renewable energy deployment and the country’s efforts to tackle the climate emergency. The change would remove the presumption in favour of “development that contributes to sustainable development” from Scottish Planning Policy. The rule was Read more
The mining necessary for producing renewable energy could exacerbate threats to biodiversity, researchers have found. The production of renewable energy requires metals and other materials which are mined. Researchers mapped the areas around more than 60,000 mining properties to assess whether they overlapped with biodiversity conservation sites. The scientists found Read more
Plans for an operations and maintenance base in the Borders – linked to a major wind farm off the Fife coast – are being recommended for approval. The Eyemouth harbour facility, connected to the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) scheme, would create about 40 jobs. It would house office, warehousing and Read more