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DAILY EXPRESS 28 DECEMBER 2022 - UK HANDED
ENERGY 'JACKPOT AS SCOTLAND'S HUGE GOLDMINE COULD EXPORT £25BN A YEAR
TO EU
The UK is set for a major energy boost, as Scotland's green hydrogen plans are set to be worth £25billion a year in exports alone by 2045. As the UK looks for ways to reach its legally binding commitment of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, while also ensuring its energy security, many have pointed to hydrogen as an answer. The gas - which can be split out of
water by
electrolysis - can be used for cooking and heating and when burnt only produces water as a byproduct, rather than fossil fuels. According to Angus Robertson, the
SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary, Scotland could soon lead the way in developing hydrogen.
Scotland has been historically gifted with abundant energy reserves in the form of
North Sea
fossil fuels and is regarded to be the largest producer of
oil and the second largest producer of
gas in Europe.
But as the world shifts away from dirty fossil fuels, the region has also been developing renewable energy potential, which Mr Robertson notes is enough to "satisfy our own domestic requirements and also be exported".
Given the vast potential for offshore wind, Scotland recently launched the world's biggest licensing round for floating
offshore wind energy with the potential to deliver 27.6 gigawatts (GW).
He wrote in the Edinburgh Evening News: "The 'ScotWind' project opens up the exciting prospect of making Scotland a world leader in hydrogen production, which can be used in
fuel cells to generate
electricity or power and heat buildings."
Experts have hailed hydrogen's incredible potential to replace natural gas in a number of sectors, including transportation, commercial, industrial and residential as well as being a portable energy source.
The plan says: "Capitalising on the potential for Scotland to become a leading exporter of hydrogen is estimated to contribute between £5billion and £25billion a year by 2045 depending on the scale of production and the extent of exports."
[A much needed offset to the National
Debt, currently £2.46 trillion,
rising at unabated trajectory toward bankruptcy, due to policy
vandalism]
Mr Robertson touted hydrogen as Scotland's "renewable energy jackpot", adding that its potential for clean power "is so significant that it can provide electricity and hydrogen to other countries.
"Europe's energy transition will involve significant hydrogen imports and, with Scotland only 700-750km from the coastlines of the Netherlands and Germany, there are excellent opportunities for speedier shipment and lower transportation costs than from other locations.
"In addition to hydrogen export by ship, there is significant potential for direct supply by pipeline from Scotland to continental Europe."
The Scottish Government has said that "it has the ambition for Scotland to be a leading producer and exporter of hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives for use in the
UK and in
Europe, with the first hydrogen delivered from Scotland to mainland Europe in the mid-2020s".
Ms Chia previously said that until 2030, hydrogen would primarily only be used in industrial uses, after which it would begin transitioning into cars, residential heating, industrial heating and power generation.
She said: "The energy transition will only happen when you combine all of the different levers that you have to reduce CO2. That includes post-combustion capture on things like power plants,
steel plants, cement plants, and it also includes generating clean hydrogen from both
blue and
green
hydrogen.
[In the case of blue, presumably with carbon
capture offset]
"We see that blue hydrogen is a key enabler to create the ecosystem that allows green hydrogen to scale. The hydrogen you have in the transition pathways is based on the
hydrogen council from now until 2025- it will continue to be used in industrial places, primarily in brief in-process applications in industrial heating.
"From there it is going to slowly make that transition a pivot when that capacity of hydrogen is enough that it converts to mobility and power generation. That means cars, aviation, any number of those areas."
[Demonstrably
we desperately need investment in electricity
storage infrastructure, to make the best of wasted renewable
energy that would reduce reliance on energy imports. Charge
Rage, is
spelling out policy ineptitudes, such as the £2.4
trillion National Debt, burning up more of the only planet we have.
Burning equals: acid
oceans, desertification
and global
warming via climate
change. Debt is a major economic imbalance issue, perhaps warranting a moratorium
style declaration of insolvency/bankruptcy - to save Earth. Or, mucho
rapido policy changes.]
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A
BIT OF SOLAR HISTORY
The
first solar powered boat to travel around the world was the PlanetSolar,
coming home on the 4th of May 2012. PlanetSolar set off on 27th September 2010,
following the Sunshine Route, a calculated passage first shown in London at the 1994/95 Boat
Show, hoping to educate the maritime world and policy makers. Not a
chance then, and iffy even now in an energy crisis.
LINKS,
CONTACTS & REFERENCE
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/uk-handed-energy-jackpot-as-scotland-s-huge-goldmine-could-export-25bn-a-year-to-eu/ar-AA15I1QO
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