Philip Maxwell, chairman of the Islay Energy Trust, by the Sound of Islay where the ScottishPower turbines will be sited. Photograph: Guardian/Murdo MacLeod/Murdo MacLeod
Having already completed several wind power projects, with many more on the way, Scotland is one of the European leaders for clean renewable energy. While wind energy has been the Scottish clean energy of choice, seeing as the prevailing winds there are more than ample for wind power generation, it often times comes with great difficulty when based on land due to permitting issues resulting from protests of land owners and local townships that the turbines are unsightly or too noisy.
The Answer Is Blowing Underwater?
So now the Scots are looking to put turbines where no one can see or hear them. ScottishPower is planning a tidal energy project that will supply all the electricity for one of Scotland’s most famous islands; Islay. The island is known for being home to several distilleries of which the Laphroaig and Lagavulin whisky distilleries are probably the most well known. The 10MW tidal project, which is going to be one of the world’s largest, will provide enough electricity for Islay’s 3,500 inhabitants, and its distilleries, for 23 hours a day.
ScottishPower is planning to submerge and secure 10 100ft underwater tidal turbines to the seabed beneath the Sound of Islay where the tidal currents move as fast as 9 ft per second. With speeds like that, let’s all hope those turbines are well secured and rugged. The entire project is estimated to cost about $90 million USD and is only a small portion of an overall Scottish “marine energy roadmap” that outlines plans to produce 2GW of electricity from tidal and wave power by 2020.
The Good: The Scots are taking advantage of their ample wind and, in this case, tidal energies with an ambitious plan to power an entire island and it’s 3,500 inhabitants.
The Bad: Tidal power generation and technology is only in it’s infancy. No long term data has yet been gathered regarding its efficiency, durability, and cost effectiveness. Maintenance is likely to be difficult and expensive.
The Bottom-Line: An example of a government and industry not afraid of charting new renewable energy territory with ambitious plans and cooperative alliance.
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