Highlights of Energy Announcements in 2009

While the North Sea oil and gas production continues to slowly decline the big news in the energy sector during 2009 came from renewables – particularly the opening of the £300 million, 322MW windfarm at Whitelee near Glasgow.

With 140-turbines, this is Europe's largest operating onshore wind farm and its owner, Iberdrola Renewables, plans to create at least three and, if possible, as many as five similar-sized wind farms in Scotland.

However, this European title will be taken in 2012 by the £500 million 350 MW Clyde wind farm development in southern Scotland when its turbines come on stream.

Offshore wind turbine start producing power

Meanwhile, offshore wind farm potential became a reality when Scotland's first development started generating electricity. The 180MW Robin Rigg wind farm in the Solway Firth consists of 60 turbines providing enough power for 120,000 homes.

The sector also received an additional boost following the Crown Estate’s decision to allow 10 offshore windfarms sites to be developed within Scottish territorial waters with the potential to generate more than 6GW of offshore wind power.

Saltire prize promotes wave energy

Wave power was also taking off during the year with the government’s decision to give the green light to npower renewables’ application to operate a 4MW wave farm off the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles. This is one of the first marine renewable energy projects to be approved in the UK and followed the launch of the £10 million Saltire Prize in July – an international competition to demonstrate a commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology in Scottish waters.

Meanwhile, the Edinburgh-based marine energy company Aquamarine Power, announced it had struck "the biggest deal in the history of marine energy" in a plan to team up with Airtricity to develop one gigawatt of wave and tidal power off the coast of the UK and Ireland by 2020 using its ‘oyster’ wave energy technology.

Aquamarine’s ‘oyster’ system was technically proven when First Minister Alex Salmond switched on the device at its test bed at the European Marine Energy Centre off the Orkney Islands. This was the first time wave-generated electricity was fed into the National Grid and made the ‘oyster’ the largest working hydro-electric wave energy device in the world.

New 100MW power station open above Loch Ness

Scotland’s long history in developing hydro-electric power continued as Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) unveiled plans for two new large-scale pumped storage hydro-electric schemes in the Great Glen, which could increase Scotland's hydro capacity by more than 70 per cent.

The announcement came as the Queen officially opened SSE's giant £150m 100MW Glendoe hydro scheme in the hills above Loch Ness, which is capable of providing enough power for every household in Glasgow.

The year also heard plans for a number of large biomass power stations: two in Cathness totalling £300 million; and a £1 billion project from Forth Energy to build four 100MW power stations at Scottish ports at Dundee, Rosyth, Grangemouth and Leith.

International market for Scottish oil and gas services

Once the world’s fourth-largest oil and gas producer, the UK has been in decline since 1999, but there is still plenty of life left in the North Sea. Forecasts suggest that oil and gas production will average about 2.5 million barrels a day in 2009, down five percent from 2008.

Aberdeen is the centre of oil and gas activity and is home to a wide range of indigenous and multinational energy and service companies. Scotland's oil and gas industry not only develops the North Sea but also is in demand throughout the world.

According to the Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Council Development and Industry, sales during the most recent full year rose by 10 per cent to £14.2 billion, with the supply industry now making 40 per cent of its earnings from exports. For the first time, the industry is now selling services to more than 100 countries.

While reserves in the larger fields in the North Sea are dwindling newer and smaller reservoirs are being explored and exploited by a new generation of exploration companies. For example, Venture Production confirmed a new gas find in the UK southern North Sea while Dana Petroleum brought on its Ettrick oil field and the E18 gas field in the Dutch North Sea this year. Even oil major Mobil is still developing the long-producing Beryl field in the northern North Sea involve fresh investment of around £120 million.

So while North Sea oil and gas will continue to provide a livelihood for the current generation of energy professionals in Scotland, the growth in the development of renewable engery provides an exciting future for the next generation.

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