IET Submission to Scottish Parliament Inquiry

February 28, 2012

The Energy, Economy and Tourism committee of the Scottish Parliament asked for evidence for its Inquiry into the Scottish Government’s Renewables Targets.  Stressing the importance of the role of communities, The Islay Energy Trust has submitted a response asking for a further question to be considered by the committee:

“To what extent can communities contribute to and benefit from realising carbon savings/renewable energy targets?”
There are three reasons for posing this question, supported by IET’s experience on Islay.

  1. Talk of energy supply targets is meaningless without addressing the issue of potential reductions in energy consumption, which could make supply targets more achievable, or not as the case may be. Community action can play a significant role in helping reduce consumption.
  2. Community initiatives in developing renewable energy projects should not be ignored in the supply equation. Community Energy Scotland has already drawn the Committee’s attention to the contribution nationally that community-owned projects can make, and IET’s development of renewables projects is receiving widespread local support.
  3. Community support for larger scale renewable energy projects can facilitate the consenting process and add value to all stakeholders. However, such support can be difficult to harness without early and genuine local consultation, and comprehensive social impact assessments.

The full submission can be read here: 26 February 2012 – IET submission to Scottish Parliament Inquiry into Energy Targets

Leave a Comment » | Islay Energy Trust | Permalink
Posted by Andy Macdonald

Renewables on Islay

February 8, 2012

Islay Energy Trust’s third Renewables Day on 28th January drew a good crowd once again, all keen to find out more about how renewable technologies can benefit the average house, while also picking up a few tips on composting from Polly and indulging in  delicious baking and snacks from the Islay High School Hospitality team. Following the recent cuts to Feed-in Tariff for solar PV, the emphasis this year switched away from harnessing the power of the sun to harnessing the potential of the heat pump, with particular interest in air-air heat pumps, which many are finding to be an efficient and affordable alternative to oil and electricity when it comes to heating the home. If you’d like more information on any renewable technology but weren’t able to attend on the day, please feel free to get in touch and we can supply a list of exhibitors.

The event is also a useful opportunity to keep everyone up to date with IET’s activities, and of course to gain new members, which won’t have escaped the notice of anyone trying to get into the hall without attracting the attention of Malcolm Ogilvie, our chief recruiter. Over 31 new membership forms were handed out on the day; most have found their way back to us, but if you still have yours then feel free to drop it into the office at any time. Our membership now stands at over 300, which helps to show good community engagement when we apply for funding support for projects.

Andy Macdonald gave a thorough and informative update on the Sound of Islay Tidal project, which is making good progress, and also on display was a selection of images from the recent visual assessment carried out for our single community wind turbine proposal near Castlehill. This project is still very much in the development stage as we are in negotiation over the ground lease, but Scottish Natural Heritage, as site owner, has very helpfully given us interim permission to carry out various studies to take full advantage of our current funding. This means that in addition to commissioning the visual assessment we have been able to apply for a grid connection for the project, and have recently submitted a planning application for a met mast on the site so that we can carry out the necessary wind speed assessments. We hope that this project, which would see the installation of one 330kW turbine, will one day earn a considerable income for the community – but there are a number of hurdles still to clear, not least that grid connection application.

The visual assessment has been a very interesting exercise, and it is encouraging to see how low-key the installation would be if it goes ahead. If you didn’t see the pictures on the day, they are available to see at our office in Main Street – please call in during office hours, all comments welcome.

Leave a Comment » | Domestic renewables, Islay Energy Trust, Renewable Energy, Wind Energy | Permalink
Posted by Lindy MacLellan

HS1000 at EMEC getting ready to feed the grid

February 8, 2012
HS1000 Subsea

Hammerfest Strom's HS1000 at EMEC

Hammerfest Strøm has completed another key milestone after the successful installation of the 1MW HS1000 tidal turbine in one of the toughest waters in Europe at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The installation was carried out during very challenging weather conditions. The device has been successfully synchronised to the grid and supplied power to the grid on the first attempt and during the first start-up.

Project Manager, Martin Sloan says:
“When we started out in this process the widely held view was that we had an operational window  of approx. 6 months. With deployment of the HS1000 in some of the UK’s most hostile waters at what must be considered one of the worst operational deployment periods we have demonstrated that with the correct methodologies, skilled personnel and proper risk management the window is year round. The significance of this should go a long way to driving down the whole cost structure of tidal deployment by companies such as Hammerfest Strøm who can demonstrate they have the capability and technologies to work throughout the year.

The final phase of commissioning the onshore equipment is now well underway and it is anticipated that we will commence operational / load testing onto the grid later this month which then kicks off the data collection and engineering validation process, this process will continue over many months albeit tthe system is now configured to be operated remotely.”

For more details are available from the Hammerfest Strøm website.

 

 

Leave a Comment » | Islay Energy Trust | Permalink
Posted by Andy Macdonald

Solar PV – is it still worth it?

February 2, 2012

Continuing uncertainty over the Government’s decision to cut the Feed-in Tariff for Solar PV has led to confusion among potential customers,  as well as being pretty disastrous for the trade. Green Energy Net has two excellent articles on this which may help you decide whether it’s still for you and you’ll find them here:

Is Solar PV still worth considering in 2012?

When does Solar PV not make sense?

If you’re still considering installing solar panels on your house, read both of these first – and  in particular, pay attention to the recommendation that before considering any renewable technology, you should first do the easy and cheap stuff – insulation, draught-proofing and taking more care in how you use your heating and hot water system will help keep your bills down with very little effort. In future, it’s likely that adoption of such measures will be mandatory before Feed-in Tariff can be paid, and rightly so. Installing solar panels or a heat pump in a draughty, poorly insulated house makes no sense, either financially or in terms of carbon saving  -  which is, after all, what the Feed-in Tariff is all about.

Leave a Comment » | Carbon Savings, Domestic renewables, Home Energy Efficiency, Islay Energy Trust, Renewable Energy, Solar PV | Permalink
Posted by Lindy MacLellan