7 ms·

Why would Scottish independence matter? Are they gonna take their wind with them?

throwaway0665 3y ago
There are a considerable number of existing wind farms in Scottland
s0l1dsnak3123 3y ago
Well, yes, Scotland has many of the best sites for wind turbine generation in the UK. In all likelihood my country would be able to sell energy and water to the rest of the UK when Scotland finally leaves (I am still certain it will happen in my lifetime).
- martinald 3y ago
  Not really, most offshore is off the coast of England now, not Scotland.
  - anovikov 3y ago
    And this is probably exactly because of Scottish independence concerns in the past...
    - martinald 3y ago
      I don't think there is a huge difference in output of English vs Scottish territorial water wind output. There is a massive shortage of Scottish -> England transmission though. So it's a lot better to build them closer to where the power is needed. However, there is nearly 10GW of HVDC in the pipeline to transmit power from Scotland to England (look up national grid eastern link 1, 2, 3 and 4).
  - louthy 3y ago
    Just to back that up: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-locations-of-constructed-or-planned-offshore-wind-farms-in-the-UK-Map-adapted-from_fig3_307661314 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-locations-of-constru...
    - martinald 3y ago
      That's from 2010. This is a more up to date one, but still probably outdated: https://www.windenergynetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/A1-Map_Issue-57-WEB.pdf https://www.windenergynetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/...
- scythe 3y ago
  One of the major limitations of wind power in England is that new onshore wind farms are very difficult to construct if not totally illegal in England. This is probably part of the reason for the situation another commenter noticed: most UK offshore is currently in England's territorial waters. But another reason is due to shortfalls in the physical interconnection between the Scottish and English power grids. UK must construct additional pylons. There's also major potential for wind farms in Wales, although it's been controversial since some of the sites are on top of peat bogs or scenic hills. >Scotland finally leaves (I am still certain it will happen in my lifetime). Scotland could aim for a Channel Islands-type arrangement where they still enjoy an economic union without an administrative one. That would be similar to the situation that existed before the Acts of Union. Of course, they're quite a bit bigger than Jersey, so it could be tricky.
- tremon 3y ago
  But are you then implying that once the UK left the EU, all power transmission wires were cut as well? Because I don't see a reason why England wouldn't still enjoy low prices for wind energy even if Scotland were independent -- if Scotland has overcapacity, they'll have to sell at any price anyway to avoid disrupting their power grid. Besides, the European electricity grid is much larger than the EU, it spans all the way from Ireland to Turkey, and from Finland to Morocco.
  - secfirstmd 3y ago
    This
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Anon826 3y ago
UK government pays for energy projects in Scotland to help Scottish economy. Scotland makes up 7% of UK economy. Scotland claims 100% ownership after independence. Genius SNP.
- jl6 3y ago
  The big wind projects aren't "owned" by the UK/Scottish governments, they are private* assets built under a government license. Most likely an independent Scotland would continue to license these wind farms and the energy trade with the rest of the UK would continue under very similar terms. * Actually, many of them are owned by non-UK governments.
- yread 3y ago
  Isn't it the other way around? British gov sells licenses for windparks for billions. It then guarantees electricity price to a certain degree. This would be presumably paid by the Scottish gov.
krallja 3y ago
They would take the Scottish coast with them.
thebruce87m 3y ago
Scottish independence is directly linked to energy. If Scottish independence is in the news then the amount of oil in the North Sea vanishes overnight. Luckily it all comes back when independence talk dies down.

There are a considerable number of existing wind farms in Scottland

Well, yes, Scotland has many of the best sites for wind turbine generation in the UK. In all likelihood my country would be able to sell energy and water to the rest of the UK when Scotland finally leaves (I am still certain it will happen in my lifetime).

martinald 3y ago
Not really, most offshore is off the coast of England now, not Scotland.
- anovikov 3y ago
  And this is probably exactly because of Scottish independence concerns in the past...
  - martinald 3y ago
    I don't think there is a huge difference in output of English vs Scottish territorial water wind output. There is a massive shortage of Scottish -> England transmission though. So it's a lot better to build them closer to where the power is needed. However, there is nearly 10GW of HVDC in the pipeline to transmit power from Scotland to England (look up national grid eastern link 1, 2, 3 and 4).
- louthy 3y ago
  Just to back that up: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-locations-of-constructed-or-planned-offshore-wind-farms-in-the-UK-Map-adapted-from_fig3_307661314 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-locations-of-constru...
  - martinald 3y ago
    That's from 2010. This is a more up to date one, but still probably outdated: https://www.windenergynetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/A1-Map_Issue-57-WEB.pdf https://www.windenergynetwork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/...
scythe 3y ago
One of the major limitations of wind power in England is that new onshore wind farms are very difficult to construct if not totally illegal in England. This is probably part of the reason for the situation another commenter noticed: most UK offshore is currently in England's territorial waters. But another reason is due to shortfalls in the physical interconnection between the Scottish and English power grids. UK must construct additional pylons. There's also major potential for wind farms in Wales, although it's been controversial since some of the sites are on top of peat bogs or scenic hills. >Scotland finally leaves (I am still certain it will happen in my lifetime). Scotland could aim for a Channel Islands-type arrangement where they still enjoy an economic union without an administrative one. That would be similar to the situation that existed before the Acts of Union. Of course, they're quite a bit bigger than Jersey, so it could be tricky.
tremon 3y ago
But are you then implying that once the UK left the EU, all power transmission wires were cut as well? Because I don't see a reason why England wouldn't still enjoy low prices for wind energy even if Scotland were independent -- if Scotland has overcapacity, they'll have to sell at any price anyway to avoid disrupting their power grid. Besides, the European electricity grid is much larger than the EU, it spans all the way from Ireland to Turkey, and from Finland to Morocco.
- secfirstmd 3y ago
  This

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Anon826 3y ago

UK government pays for energy projects in Scotland to help Scottish economy. Scotland makes up 7% of UK economy. Scotland claims 100% ownership after independence. Genius SNP.

jl6 3y ago
The big wind projects aren't "owned" by the UK/Scottish governments, they are private* assets built under a government license. Most likely an independent Scotland would continue to license these wind farms and the energy trade with the rest of the UK would continue under very similar terms. * Actually, many of them are owned by non-UK governments.
yread 3y ago
Isn't it the other way around? British gov sells licenses for windparks for billions. It then guarantees electricity price to a certain degree. This would be presumably paid by the Scottish gov.

krallja 3y ago

They would take the Scottish coast with them.

thebruce87m 3y ago

Scottish independence is directly linked to energy. If Scottish independence is in the news then the amount of oil in the North Sea vanishes overnight. Luckily it all comes back when independence talk dies down.