What is unique about the Scottish energy challenge, and can the Scottish government realistically achieve its target of securing 100% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020?
That was tricky issue under discussion at the Guardian's Glasgow debate on tackling the UK's energy crisis. More than half (56%) of Scotland's pensioners are affected by fuel poverty, compared with 24% in the south of England.
As fuel poverty bites, it's up to politicians to take the lead: our panel agreed that energy policy should be depoliticised and that politicians should listen to expert opinion and be willing to take unpopular decisions to achieve a secure energy source.
Paul Younger, professor of energy engineering at the University of Glasgow, expressed concern at the Scottish government's policy of focusing on wind power, warning the country was at risk of "sleepwalking towards a cliff edge".
"At the minute, 34% of energy we use comes from nuclear [and] we're only certain of that until 2023," he said.
"We've got one coal-fired gas station and one gas-fired power station. I am very enthusiastic about renewables but I don't want us to get to a sustainable future by disaster, and at the minute, I fear we are too ready to sloganise, to reduce energy to electricity, and then reduce electricity to wind."
His views were echoed by Professor Ian Arbon of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, who said the 2020 target would be "extremely difficult to achieve" and that renewables were nowhere near meeting targets to supply the nation's heating demands.
But the Scottish government continues to oppose nuclear energy. Is shale gas the answer? According to Younger, sourcing unconventional gas is "inevitable" because the government has effectively ruled out both nuclear energy and new coal.
But he warned that shale gas is unlikely to be a "game changer" in Scotland due to its location under densely populated areas.
One potential solution, he argued, would be to convert coal under the sea into gas – but this would prove controversial. Another idea would be to embrace geothermal district heating in cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Tidal and wave power is a third option. Professor Younger said this source posed massive challenges for engineering, explaining that wave energy was more unreliable than wind.
Annie Breaden, policy manager at the Crown Estate, revealed there were 40 leases for wave and tidal projects around the UK but most were only at the test and demonstration stage.
"The roll out of most commercial projects is far out in the future," she said. "We can have secure and green energy but it's going to cost about twice what it has cost us until now," Younger said.
"Now, how do we move to that without massively increasing fuel poverty? I don't see how the market can do it actually so we need a mechanism that builds in social solidarity … but I see very little political priority on that, which I think is a disgrace."
With so many stumbling blocks ahead, Duncan Booker, sustainability manager at Glasgow city council, called for coal to be reintroduced to the public debate and several experts, including businessman Tim Wright and Esther Black of the Crown Estate, called for politicians to show strong leadership over the problem of energy.
Perhaps the focus should be on consumer behaviour, conserving energy and shifting the times we consume the most.
Julian Leslie, a customer manager at the National Grid, cited "smart meters" as one way to achieve this radical change of approach, though he warned the technology needed further development. It's not just up to domestic consumers.
Wright, the director of social business Twintangibles, said companies must adapt and become more flexible and efficient in the way they use energy.
"As a business we have a responsibility to use energy wisely," agreed Benedetto Bordone, founder of The Loft Creative Studios.
theguardian.com
That was tricky issue under discussion at the Guardian's Glasgow debate on tackling the UK's energy crisis. More than half (56%) of Scotland's pensioners are affected by fuel poverty, compared with 24% in the south of England.
As fuel poverty bites, it's up to politicians to take the lead: our panel agreed that energy policy should be depoliticised and that politicians should listen to expert opinion and be willing to take unpopular decisions to achieve a secure energy source.
Paul Younger, professor of energy engineering at the University of Glasgow, expressed concern at the Scottish government's policy of focusing on wind power, warning the country was at risk of "sleepwalking towards a cliff edge".
"At the minute, 34% of energy we use comes from nuclear [and] we're only certain of that until 2023," he said.
"We've got one coal-fired gas station and one gas-fired power station. I am very enthusiastic about renewables but I don't want us to get to a sustainable future by disaster, and at the minute, I fear we are too ready to sloganise, to reduce energy to electricity, and then reduce electricity to wind."
His views were echoed by Professor Ian Arbon of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, who said the 2020 target would be "extremely difficult to achieve" and that renewables were nowhere near meeting targets to supply the nation's heating demands.
But the Scottish government continues to oppose nuclear energy. Is shale gas the answer? According to Younger, sourcing unconventional gas is "inevitable" because the government has effectively ruled out both nuclear energy and new coal.
But he warned that shale gas is unlikely to be a "game changer" in Scotland due to its location under densely populated areas.
One potential solution, he argued, would be to convert coal under the sea into gas – but this would prove controversial. Another idea would be to embrace geothermal district heating in cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Tidal and wave power is a third option. Professor Younger said this source posed massive challenges for engineering, explaining that wave energy was more unreliable than wind.
Annie Breaden, policy manager at the Crown Estate, revealed there were 40 leases for wave and tidal projects around the UK but most were only at the test and demonstration stage.
"The roll out of most commercial projects is far out in the future," she said. "We can have secure and green energy but it's going to cost about twice what it has cost us until now," Younger said.
"Now, how do we move to that without massively increasing fuel poverty? I don't see how the market can do it actually so we need a mechanism that builds in social solidarity … but I see very little political priority on that, which I think is a disgrace."
With so many stumbling blocks ahead, Duncan Booker, sustainability manager at Glasgow city council, called for coal to be reintroduced to the public debate and several experts, including businessman Tim Wright and Esther Black of the Crown Estate, called for politicians to show strong leadership over the problem of energy.
Perhaps the focus should be on consumer behaviour, conserving energy and shifting the times we consume the most.
Julian Leslie, a customer manager at the National Grid, cited "smart meters" as one way to achieve this radical change of approach, though he warned the technology needed further development. It's not just up to domestic consumers.
Wright, the director of social business Twintangibles, said companies must adapt and become more flexible and efficient in the way they use energy.
"As a business we have a responsibility to use energy wisely," agreed Benedetto Bordone, founder of The Loft Creative Studios.
theguardian.com
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