# Scotland Got Half of Its Power From Renewables in 2014



## SeaBreeze (Jun 26, 2015)

Scotland got half of its power from renewables in 2014...http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/26/3674316/scotland-gets-half-its-power-from-renewables/











> New data from the Scottish government shows that the country generated 49.8 percent of its electricity from renewables in 2014, effectively meeting its target of generating half of electricity demand from clean sources by the end of this year.The milestone means the 50 percent target was met a year early, with overall total renewable generation up 5.4 percent from 2013. The next benchmark in the government’s plan is to generate enough renewable energy to power 100 percent of the country’s demand by 2020.
> 
> Results from the first quarter of 2015 show that growth is continuing at a rapid rate. Scottish wind farms produced a record amount of power in the first three months of this year, up 4.3 percent from the first quarter of 2014. The wind farms produced a total of 4,452 gigawatt hours (GWh), enough to power some one million U.K. homes for a year.
> 
> ...


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## Warrigal (Jun 26, 2015)

Well done the Scots. :clap:

Our government thinks we are getting too much power from renewables and has reduced our renewable energy target. 
Our PM thinks climate change is crap an that wind farms are ugly. 
This from a man who goes out in public in budgie smugglers and lycra bike pants.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 26, 2015)

I think wind farms are great Warrigal.  LOL on the budgie smugglers!


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## imp (Jun 26, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Well done the Scots. :clap:
> 
> Our government thinks we are getting too much power from renewables and has reduced our renewable energy target.
> Our PM thinks climate change is crap an that wind farms are ugly.
> This from a man who goes out in public in budgie smugglers and lycra bike pants.



Who elected him to office?   imp


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## imp (Jun 26, 2015)

The "wind-farm" concept has been picked to pieces here in the U.S. Southwest. Hundreds of propellors spinning gigantic diameters across Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, have given rise to claims that the "noise they make is an environmental concern"; the numbers of birds they kill make them morally unacceptable; the "unnatural disruption" of normal movements of air and weather patterns, "threatens the proper culmination of crop production".

How much of this can possibly be believed?             imp


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## Warrigal (Jun 26, 2015)

imp said:


> Who elected him to office?   imp



Rupert Murdoch and he doesn't even have a vote as far as I know.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 27, 2015)

Wind farms are everywhere here and as far as I've seen, many in very isolated areas - of which we have many. 

The Tory government in London want to end the startup subsidies to Scotland a year early!  Thanks Cameron.

As for Rupert, we won't subscribe to Sky TV here because he owns it and we won't put a penny I his pocket.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 27, 2015)

imp said:


> The "wind-farm" concept has been picked to pieces here in the U.S. Southwest. Hundreds of propellors spinning gigantic diameters across Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, have given rise to claims that the "noise they make is an environmental concern"; the numbers of birds they kill make them morally unacceptable; the "unnatural disruption" of normal movements of air and weather patterns, "threatens the proper culmination of crop production".
> 
> How much of this can possibly be believed?             imp



A few years ago the village across the loch from us wanted a money making scheme and decided on 5 wind turbines as tall as Big Ben.  This would have been a blight on the landscape, endanger some of the birds nesting there, and since it is so quiet here, the noise would have been like constant tinnitus. It is a mile to the other side of the loch but noise carries and we can even hear their dogs barking. Our communities on our side of the loch fought it and won.

These would have destroyed the view from our windows. Many isolated areas to put these.


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## Warrigal (Jun 27, 2015)

I feel the same about Murdoch. 
I won't have pay TV (Foxtel) or buy any of this papers. 
His media presence is a lot more concentrated over here and he wields his political power to increase his own profits.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 27, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Well done the Scots. :clap:
> 
> Our government thinks we are getting too much power from renewables and has reduced our renewable energy target.
> Our PM thinks climate change is crap an that wind farms are ugly.
> This from a man who goes out in public in budgie smugglers and lycra bike pants.



How did this idiot get elected?! My sil in Melbourne is always complaining about him. It sounds like he is trying to destroy Australia!


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## Warrigal (Jun 27, 2015)

I'll start a new thread on Tony Abbott to avoid contaminating this one.
He's a case study that will get someone a PhD in the future.


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## Laurie (Jun 27, 2015)

"As for Rupert, we won't subscribe to Sky TV here because he owns it and we won't put a penny I his pocket."

How on earth do you manage over where you are?

I'd leave Sky tomorrow, but it's the only game in town over this side.  No cable, no fibre optics.


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## Warrigal (Jun 27, 2015)

Free to air TV satisfies me at this stage.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 27, 2015)

Free sat and Netflix.  Still have the Sky dish but no subscription. Also Amazon Prime movies.


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## Josiah (Jun 27, 2015)

Scotland has also been a leader in the development and implementation of wave and tidal power.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=AoUSEuXOE4oWM635YHTc5g&bvm=bv.96783405,d.eXY


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## Jackie22 (Jun 27, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Well done the Scots. :clap:
> 
> Our government thinks we are getting too much power from renewables and has reduced our renewable energy target.
> Our PM thinks climate change is crap an that wind farms are ugly.
> This from a man who goes out in public in budgie smugglers and lycra bike pants.



Well, we have the same problem, the republican side of our government do everything in their power to oppose anything to combat climate change and renewable energy.....the ignorance increases our decline.


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## Debby (Jun 27, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Well done the Scots. :clap:
> 
> Our government thinks we are getting too much power from renewables and has reduced our renewable energy target.
> Our PM thinks climate change is crap an that wind farms are ugly.
> This from a man who goes out in public in *budgie smugglers and lycra bike pants.*




Too funny Dame Warrigal!  Thanks for the mental image.


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## Debby (Jun 27, 2015)

Ameriscot brought up the issue of noise with the turbines and it reminded me of a thing I saw on TV just a couple days ago.  They're actually working on redesigning the blades on those turbines so that they emulate the shape of owl feathers so that they will be soundless.

And while I'm sure that there is likely a problem with bird deaths, think how many more deaths and extinctions are in the offing because of climate change.  Is this one of those instances when we're forced to pick the lesser of two evils?  I haven't really studied this issue so won't venture more of an opinion than that.

Other than that, I'd say kudos to Scotland for taking the problems seriously and doing something proactive.  Maybe if we have a different government after the next election, we'll finally begin to remake our image on the climate issue.


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## Laurie (Jun 27, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> Free sat and Netflix.  Still have the Sky dish but no subscription. Also Amazon Prime movies.



Ah! Netflix requires a decent phone line. Once again, BT the only game in town.  A radio programme takes longer to download than it does to listen to, and a film can only be downloaded overnight!


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## Ameriscot (Jun 27, 2015)

Laurie said:


> Ah! Netflix requires a decent phone line. Once again, BT the only game in town.  A radio programme takes longer to download than it does to listen to, and a film can only be downloaded overnight!




We are stuck with BT but streaming is usually okay.


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## BobF (Jun 27, 2015)

It seems to me that solar energy is the least productive source in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United_States

*Renewable energy in the United States*


*Renewable energy in the United States* accounted for 12.9 percent of the domestically produced electricity in 2013,[SUP][1][/SUP] and 11.2 percent of total energy generation.[SUP][2][/SUP] As of 2014, more than 143,000 people work in the solar industry and 43 states deploy net metering, where energy utilities buy back excess power generated by solar arrays.[SUP][3][/SUP]
Renewable energy  reached a major milestone in the first quarter of 2011, when it  contributed 11.7 percent of total U.S. energy production (2.245  quadrillion BTUs of energy), surpassing energy production from nuclear  power (2.125 quadrillion BTUs).[SUP][4][/SUP] 2011 was the first year since 1997 that renewables exceeded nuclear in US total energy production.[SUP][5][/SUP]



 

 Sources of total United States renewable energy, 2012 (US EIA)
..................................

And much more in the article.   This graph does show how our energy is being made these days.   To me, the solar is really disappointing in that it takes up so much space for such small gains.   They are putting them on roof tops and building large fields of these arrays and all in all they produce very little in return.   Cloudy days or at nights other sources are needed.   Wind does better but having lived in a state that uses wind as a supplement, we see them also not producing much at all.   When winds are blowing too hard the windmills shut down and protect themselves from wind damage.   They do produce on nights and days when the winds are proper.   

I think that some day the scientist and engineers will come up with something better than these current solar panels.   Something much more productive and able to take up much less space.


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## Mike (Jun 27, 2015)

When I was young, a long time ago, Scotland
got more than half of its energy from renewables,
most of the electricity came from Hydro-Electric
plants, with a few coal fired stations in the south.

Long before Wind Farms were thought of, they even
had a Nuclear Power Station, the first in the UK.

Mike.


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## BobF (Jun 27, 2015)

Mike said:


> When I was young, a long time ago, Scotland
> got more than half of its energy from renewables,
> most of the electricity came from Hydro-Electric
> plants, with a few coal fired stations in the south.
> ...



In the US we have plenty of nuclear power plants, over 50 of them.   I wonder why they were not shown on that chart I posted.   Maybe trying to not scare all the folks.   I would like to see more and forget some of these barely working ideas.


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## Don M. (Jun 27, 2015)

Current Wind Turbines, with their massive blades, are a noisy and inefficient way to produce electricity.  However, there are several prototypes of wind turbines currently in test that resolve most of the current problems, and increase the output of these turbines.  Within the next few years, new designs will be available that increase the output of wind generated electricity, AND eliminate the problems.
  Solar is also on the brink of becoming the major producer of electricity.   Solar prices are coming down substantially, and if battery technology can be improved...hopefully by research such as that being done by Tesla...it may not be many more years before solar power becomes economically feasible for individual homeowners.  

Presently, the biggest hurdle that has to be overcome is the powerful influence the fossil fuel industry has on our government.  These corporations can see the beginning of their demise, and they will fight Clean Energy projects at every opportunity.  If they were smart, they would be taking some of their massive profits and begin investing in clean energy, themselves.  It will take some time to transition away from fossil fuels for transportation purposes, but for electrical generation purposes, wind and solar could very easily supply the vast majority of the nations needs within another decade, or two.


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## Warrigal (Jun 28, 2015)

Yes, new technologies take some time to mature.
Remember Stephenson's Rocket?





Wind turbines will evolve.


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## SeaBreeze (Sep 6, 2015)

*US making changes slowly but surely*

Third city in the US to use renewable energy.


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## oldman (Sep 7, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> Wind farms are everywhere here and as far as I've seen, many in very isolated areas - of which we have many.
> 
> The Tory government in London want to end the startup subsidies to Scotland a year early!  Thanks Cameron.
> 
> As for Rupert, we won't subscribe to Sky TV here because he owns it and we won't put a penny I his pocket.




You may have already put many pennies in his enormous pockets without even knowing it. Murdoch has many, many holdings. It may be difficult to totally miss something that he doesn't either own or have money invested in. I heard him speak at an investment forum for entrepreneurs about 10 years ago. He came across as a very intelligent man when speaking about investing and what industries makes the most sense to invest in. He was not political at all during the forum, although a few attendees from the audience tried to lure him into a political debate, he was able to walk around them.


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## Ameriscot (Sep 7, 2015)

oldman said:


> You may have already put many pennies in his enormous pockets without even knowing it. Murdoch has many, many holdings. It may be difficult to totally miss something that he doesn't either own or have money invested in. I heard him speak at an investment forum for entrepreneurs about 10 years ago. He came across as a very intelligent man when speaking about investing and what industries makes the most sense to invest in. He was not political at all during the forum, although a few attendees from the audience tried to lure him into a political debate, he was able to walk around them.



I'm sure I have. But it was the phone hacking hearings when we decided no more money to him. During the hearings he was so obviously lying about what he knew or didn't know.


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## oldman (Sep 7, 2015)

Most politicians, or any people in power for that matter will do whatever is necessary to protect or hide their dirty laundry. It's not a new concept. Believe me, it has been used by many.


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## BobF (Sep 7, 2015)

Don M. said:


> Current Wind Turbines, with their massive blades, are a noisy and inefficient way to produce electricity.  However, there are several prototypes of wind turbines currently in test that resolve most of the current problems, and increase the output of these turbines.  Within the next few years, new designs will be available that increase the output of wind generated electricity, AND eliminate the problems.
> Solar is also on the brink of becoming the major producer of electricity.   Solar prices are coming down substantially, and if battery technology can be improved...hopefully by research such as that being done by Tesla...it may not be many more years before solar power becomes economically feasible for individual homeowners.
> 
> Presently, the biggest hurdle that has to be overcome is the powerful influence the fossil fuel industry has on our government.  These corporations can see the beginning of their demise, and they will fight Clean Energy projects at every opportunity.  If they were smart, they would be taking some of their massive profits and begin investing in clean energy, themselves.  It will take some time to transition away from fossil fuels for transportation purposes, but for electrical generation purposes, wind and solar could very easily supply the vast majority of the nations needs within another decade, or two.



The coal industry had been trying to prove they could build 'dirt' free coal processes and had one plant ready for testing in Indiana when Obama became President and locked down that plant.   It is a real shame to lock down alternative tests and demand we use unproven and still unproven solar and wind technologies.   Someday their may be improved and reliable solar or wind generated operations.   How many of our power companies will remain in business if only to back up unreliable solar or wind.   It does not sound like a good business operation.


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## Don M. (Sep 7, 2015)

Americans have become "spoiled" by cheap and reliable electric energy...due to major investments by our current power companies.  To label these companies as "evil" is rather short sighted.  I'm sure that these companies are well aware of the environmental concerns and are working hard to resolve such issues.  Rather than shutting these current power plants down, our government should be helping these providers accelerate their plans for cleaner power production.  Alternative energy sources will probably be the mainstay in the future, but the transition should be made in a careful, and orderly manner.  

Europe is trying to transition quickly to alternative energy sources...in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, and their electricity rates are climbing...with some areas paying as much as 28 cents per KWH....and an average of over 20 cents/KWH across Europe.  Here, the national average is in the 12 cents/KWH range....we pay 8.2 cents/KWH.  If everyone's electric bills rose by 75%, even the politicians in Washington would have to listen to the howling.


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