Energy is a critical issue and even more so in the
Outer Hebrides. It is a strange situation to be in when we have a lot of free
renewable energy potential available yet we are still dependent on costly
conventional energy - costly not only in terms of price but also transportation
which, of course has been a huge local issue.
There seems to be a theme whereby energy sources
which should be working for us are working against us and we are paying dearly
for conventional fossil fuels to mitigate this. The wind, for example, usually
a great source of consternation through the chill factor and bad weather it
brings, is being countered by households through costly fossil fuels. We only
have to look at the rising energy bills and our position in terms of the fuel
poverty league tables to see the expense each family is faced with. Wind, which
could be argued, is one of our greatest assets, is working against us.
We could also look at the tide. Again, the effects
of the tide could be looked at as adversely working against the community.
Coastal erosion and the upkeep of piers and harbours incur costs and tax payer
finances have been used to battle the constant effects of the tide. And, on the
other hand, tidal energy, with its consistency, could be harnessed to benefit
the community.
Council
The council's policy at the moment seems to be
developing renewable energy generation for large-scale export only. While I am
supportive of large-scale renewable energy development on the island, there are
still unknown factors such as the benefits to the community and basically every
single household from the Butt to Barra. The wind that should benefit us, first
and foremost, the communities of the Outer Hebrides, is getting exported for the
benefit of others. How will it benefit us?
Currently, our council is one of the council's
participating in the Our Islands Our Future conference in Orkney this month
with the objective of greater autonomy for islands to take responsibility of
their own affairs but surely there is a need to demonstrate this by showing that
our own council can manage its own energy resource.
Energy Plan
After raising this at the Sustainable Development
Committee in September, I was delighted that the Comhairle agreed to look at an
Energy Plan and start planning on the ESCo.
I have been lobbying for the ESCo with the view that with the abundance
of renewable energy potential, islanders should benefit from low energy bills.
However, the ESCo can only work with a coherent Energy Plan.
The Energy Plan should not focus on the
interconnector but should really focus on local generation and consumption of
the abundant energy resources on the island and the displacement of expensive
fossil fuels.
In itself, the interconnector is not an energy
plan, the benefits to every household in the Outer Hebrides has not been
underlined, the risks have not been addressed. What are the risks?
The risks are that the funding policy or strategy
will have changed by the earliest possible date of the interconnector and the
details of the new policy have too many unknown factors or variables.
Therefore, this is the appropriate time to develop
a plan which will ensure all people and agencies in the Outer Hebrides move
together towards a common energy goal in eradicating fuel poverty and
exploiting the energy resources we have. The chief motivator must be the
communities of the islands and how every single household will benefit, how
huge energy bills can be reduced, bills that puts so much pressure on families
especially at the coldest times of the year.
ESCo
A positive, very positive thing to emerge recently
is the ongoing discussions regarding the ESCo - Energy Supply Company - and the
option of setting up an Outer Hebrides Energy Supply Company – possible the
central feature of the Energy PLan. However, this is only a concept at this
stagehand whilst a good concept, the underpinning support and structures are
not in place. The ESCo should be the logical culmination of a well-conceived
energy plan.
Could partners such as HHP, WINHS, Lews
Castle College and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar become partners in the Outer Hebrides
Energy Supply Company each ensuring a better deal for the housing, health,
education and public services of all islanders in addition to significantly
lower energy bills.
Another option to be explored could be hydrogen and
energy storage. Community wind turbines producing hydrogen in times of excess
generation could be considered.
Hydrogen and Energy Storage
This is all underpinned by a long term vision for energy. If we are
considering a staged approach to the delivery of a self-sufficient energy
economy then the remoter none nucleated settlements could benefit from off grid
community turbine projects in the first instance. Stornoway presents a different
problem that requires generating capacity and that is where the hydrogen
project probably kicks in but with a capacity in the first instance of upwards
of 50MW. The hydrogen technology is then developed locally to manufacturing /
assembling of individual Combined Heat and Power plants that can be fitted to
individual houses and commercial properties on a subsidised basis, e.g. cost of
plant and interest repayable over 5 years with quarterly energy bill given that
the energy part of the bill should be much less than currently is the case.
There is sufficient generating capacity to utilise the existing interconnector
to sell the excess energy to the national grid to provide a major income
stream.
Hydrogen production could utilise the major wind energy projects that otherwise cannot sell their energy 'off island' because of the absence of the new interconnector.
The next stage of the process would see an expansion of hydrogen
production, the introduction of technology to utilise hydrogen for public
transport, and the introduction of technology to transport hydrogen by sea to
the major population centres in the central belt. Ultimately the ESCo could
built hydrogen powered electricity generating stations in Glasgow for instance,
using the hydrogen produced on the Outer Hebrides to generate electricity in
the Central Belt with no transmission loss while 'shipping' the profits back to
the islands and the shareholders – the people of the Western Isles.
Possible Energy Fund
The model would anticipate the formation of an Energy fund to assist the
Islands to provide enhanced levels of infrastructure including roads and
schools. A cheap energy economy would encourage manufacturing activities to the
islands. Even food production could be revolutionised by the use of cheap heat
and light by developing hydroponics based solutions.
With care and
commitment the Energy Policy could put the Comhairle right to the front as a
world leader because we have the benefit of a relatively small population and
we could deomnstrate that isolation from the mainland can actually be
advantageous
Councillor Gordon Murray, Stornoway North
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