North-east Scotland’s increasing importance as a hub for the green energy industry has been highlighted by a leading trade body.
Scottish Renewables (SR) said last year had brought a series of important developments for the sector in the region, not least the consenting of four major wind arrays off the Angus and Fife coasts.
The group said approvals for the Inch Cape, Neart na Gaoithe and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo projects were all milestones for the offshore industry in Scotland.
The fact that the first infrastructure for the one gigawatt Inch Cape array was already in the water, in the shape of a meteorological monitoring mast which was installed in November, was also a significant step forwards.
However, SR said progress in the wind power industry was only one aspect of the region’s growing renewable energy portfolio, with three local companies having picked up accolades at its recent Green Energy Awards.
It said Mines Rescue Service’s new at-height wind turbine training base at its site in Crossgates, and the Longannet Power Station-based Scotash joint venture a collaboration between Lafarge Tarmac and ScottishPower to recycle pulverised fuel ash to make aggregates for wind turbine bases showed the diversity of the sector in the region.
The body also hailed Markinch-based papermaker Tullis Russell, which has entered into a long-term agreement to procure electricity and heat from a more sustainable source than its aging on-site boilers.
Director of policy Jenny Hogan said the year had also ended with a significant development: the granting of planning permission for what will be Scotland’s largest solar farm on a 153-acre site between Brechin and Montrose.
“Scotland’s north-east is playing an increasing role in our green energy story, and the major projects which have progressed in the region in 2014 show the huge variety in our energy mix today,” she said.
“Mines Rescue showed how traditional industries can evolve and succeed in servicing the growing renewable energy sector, while Tullis Russell’s partnership with RWE Innogy has delivered a biomass combined heat and power plant which is not only cutting carbon emissions and saving money but protecting local jobs, too.
“Installation of the Inch Cape met mast marks an exciting time for our offshore wind industry, while Borealis Energy’s plans for a solar farm in Angus will put the region on the map for large-scale solar developers looking to invest in Scotland.”