Scotland has seen a big rise in wind energy in recent years and could help show Australia the way.

The gusty Scottish weather means that there are plenty of opportunities to generate power through both onshore and offshore wind energy.

Scotland has the potential to generate 25 per cent of Europe’s wind energy, and already generates approximately 60 per cent of the United Kingdom’s onshore wind installed capacity. The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets of generating 50 per cent of Scotland’s electricity through renewable sources by 2020, which will be primarily achieved through wind power.

There are 85 onshore wind farms in Scotland and the country is leading the world in the development of deep water offshore wind farms, recently deploying two of the largest capacity turbines ever constructed. While Australia has 47 wind farms, its capacity is still a long way short of Scotland. Australia is in a great position to take advantage of key learnings from Scotland’s expertise in this area.

Repurposing existing resources

Like Scotland, Australia has significant capabilities in oil and gas production that could be further adapted to develop its wind energy sector.

Scottish companies recently used proven technologies borrowed from the oil and gas industry to build the Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project, the world’s first deep water project located approximately 19 kilometers off the east coast of Scotland. A jacket, or lattice tower, rests on the seabed and serves as the substructure for the turbine.

Two other Scottish companies, SeaEnergy Renewables and Burtisland Fabrication, are building offshore wind platforms modelled on oil platform support structures. These jackets are built on the four-legged platforms initially devised for the oil industry, rather than the conventional monopile typically used to support offshore wind turbines. The platforms can be installed further out to sea for less visual intrusion and require less steel due to their lattice structure, making them more cost effective than traditional substructures.

Going deeper offshore

At nearly 50 metres deep, the Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project is almost double the depth used elsewhere in the world. It is a leading project both in the installation of larger scale turbines, which have a capacity of 5 megawatts (MW), and installation of offshore wind farms in deep water. The next stage, the proposed full-scale Beatrice Wind Farm project, will have a

920 MW installed capacity. This project has paved the way for future large scale wind development off the shores of Scotland.

Although deep water turbines are more expensive than those on land, they are in high demand overseas because they generate less visual intrusion and can provide more energy than onshore wind farms due to much stronger offshore winds.

While Australia has a lot of potential to build its onshore capacity before going offshore, it should not rule this out as this method looks to maximise renewable energy supplies to coastal high population areas.

Expanding onshore

Given its small size, Scotland has done an impressive job of leveraging its onshore wind resources with a number of stand-out examples:

Whitelee wind farm, near Glasgow, is Europe’s largest onshore wind farm. The 322 MW farm is already powerful enough to meet Glasgow’s electricity needs and is set to expand by more than a third, as part of a major green energy initiative by the Scottish Government.

An even more ambitious scheme in the Shetland Isles has recently been submitted to the Scottish Government for a 550 MW wind farm.

Providing incentives

There are a number of renewable energy incentives already in place in Scotland, including the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) legislation, which obliges Scottish electricity suppliers to secure an increasing proportion of their electricity supply from renewable sources. Emerging technologies are also supported with grants for capital expenditure.

For example, there is the development of wave and tidal capacity, where Scotland has a technological lead and a huge potential resource, the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology and the deployment of biomass energy.

The Scottish Government is also working proactively to promote continued development in tough economic times with innovations such as the Saltire Prize, an $18 million prize for advances in marine renewable energy.

Through its international economic development agency, Scottish Development International, the Scottish Government also offers a range of incentives for Australian companies looking to develop wind energy technology in Scotland (for further information, visit www.sdi.co.uk). In addition, there are a number of opportunities for partnerships between Scottish and Australian businesses operating in the sector.

Collaboration

The Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC), which opened in August 2009, is a government and university collaboration.

A $2.9 million investment in the Aberdeen facility through the European Regional Development Fund, and more than $1.8 million of funding from the Scottish Government over the next three years will allow SEGEC to focus on marine energy, offshore wind, long distance super grid development and smart distribution grids, carbon capture and storage, and renewable heat and energy efficiency.

A good example of a government and university collaboration in Australia is the Federal Government funding of $1.05 million to the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy (RISE) at Murdoch University to build a national Small Wind Turbine Test Centre. The centre is the only one of its kind in Australia and a one-stop-shop for wind turbine certification, standards and training.

It is the combination of Scotland’s collaborative environment, innovative spirit, unique natural resource and wealth of experience in energy research and production that has allowed the nation of five million to take the reins as a pioneer in wind energy.

At a time of global need for new, alternative sources of energy, Scotland sets a strong example for Australia in leading the way for the next generation of energy research and production.

Iain Steele is the Country Manager of Scottish Development International in Australia and sits on the NSW Council of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce.