Energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contr ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

is a matter that has been specifically

reserved Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Pomerania, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the largest company of the LPP group, which has more than 1,700 retail stores located in over 20 countries and also owns such ...

to the

UK parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

under the terms of the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

that created the

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

. However, since

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...

is a matter that has been devolved, the Scottish government has the ability to shape the direction of energy generation in

by approving or refusing new projects. In 2004, the Enterprise Committee of the Scottish Parliament called for the development of a 'fully fledged' Scottish energy policy. The SNP Government that took power in May 2007 specifically included the word 'energy' in a portfolio title when the junior ministerial position of

Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism The Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend

was created to replace the position of ' Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning'.

Overview

Fossil fuels

The closure of the

Longannet power station Longannet power station was a large coal-fired power station in Fife, and the last coal-fired power station in Scotland. It was capable of co-firing biomass, natural gas and sludge. The station stood on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, ...

in March 2016 ended coal-fired power production in Scotland.

Renewable energy

Windmills and Ailsa Craig aka Paddy's Milestone rotated

The production of renewable energy in Scotland is an issue that has come to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

is extraordinary by European, and even global standards, with the most important potential sources being

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...

, and

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. At the end of 2011, there was 4,796

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...

(MW) of installed renewables electricity capacity in Scotland, an increase of 9.5 per cent (416 MW) on the end of 2010. Renewable electricity generation in 2011 was a record high at 13,750 GWh - an increase of 44.5 per cent on 2010. Around 35 per cent of Scotland’s electricity came from renewables in 2011, exceeding the Scottish Government’s target of 31 per cent. Scotland contributed almost 40 per cent of the UK’s renewables output in 2011. Continuing improvements in engineering and economics are enabling more of the

renewable resource A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...

s to be utilised. Fears regarding "

peak oil Peak oil is the hypothetical point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production is reached, after which it is argued that production will begin an irreversible decline. It is related to the distinct concept of oil depletion; whil ...

" and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

have driven the subject high up the political agenda and are also encouraging the use of various biofuels. Although the finances of many projects remain either speculative or dependent on market incentives, it is probable that there has been a significant, and in all likelihood long-term change, in the underpinning economics.Monbiot, George (2006) ''Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning''. London. Allen Lane. In addition to planned increases in both large-scale generating capacity and microsystems using renewable sources, various related schemes to reduce carbon emissions are being researched. Although there is significant support from the public, private and community-led sectors, concerns about the effect of the technologies on the natural environment have been expressed. There is also an emerging political debate about the relationship between the siting, and the ownership and control of these widely distributed resources. A continuing political debate surrounds the uptake and the incentivisation schemes available for renewable technologies in Scotland. There are tensions over the disparity in costs between renewable installations in Scotland compared to those in England with suggestion that this should be recognised by the UK government.

Nuclear power

When the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

announced an energy review in early 2006, the Scottish National Party (SNP) and others made clear their view that Scotland did not need new nuclear power stations. By January 2008, when the UK Government gave the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations to be built across the UK, the SNP formed the Scottish Government and

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

made clear there was "no chance" of more nuclear power stations being built in

. The Government's stance was backed by the

which voted 63-58 to support the Scottish Government's policy of opposing new nuclear power stations.

Beauly-Denny power line

A proposed 400 kV upgrade to the existing 132 kV transmission network, seen as key to future expansion was held up in planning for three years. There was vocal opposition from some sectors and strong support from other sectors. Objections were principally on the basis of the visual impact of the pylons running through the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. 53 km of the 132kV line inside the park was taken down and not replaced. The 220 km circuit will run from

Beauly Beauly ( ; ; gd, A' Mhanachainn) is a village in the Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the Scottish County of Inverness. The land around B ...

, west of Inverness to Denny, west of Falkirk near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. In 2008, the first major independent study associated with the Scottish Government’s renewable energy targets concluded that the upgrade of the Beauly-Denny power line will be a key to future development. In January 2010, the Scottish Government approved the upgrade to the Beauly to Denny transmission line,New offshore wind farm contracts announced
''BBC News'', 8 January 2010 which was energized by Christmas 2015.

References

External links

scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy
Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee Report 2009
Scottish Government Energy Policy Overview
September 2008

scdi.org.uk
Energy Action ScotlandEnergy Policy For Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy Policy Of Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Climate change policy Energy in Scotland Public policy in Scotland