Photo: There are still a few views like this in Inishowen where the power companies have not put a turbineWe in Inishowen are in the best place in Europe to harness the power on a large commercial scale. It seems as though we will be buying our energy from Scotland though if ambitious plans are put into place. The Scottish executive has funded a feasibility study of linking Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles to a sub sea power network.
The study, being carried out by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, will explore the viability of harnessing renewable energy on the islands and transferring it to the Republic, Northern Ireland, Scandinavia, or around Britain. For the past quarter of a century the oil and gas produced around the UK’s most northern outpost has been a highly lucrative lifeline for the islands’ 22,000 inhabitants. Now the island authority is keen to take advantage of the renewables revolution. Council-controlled Viking Energy and Scottish and Southern Energy are developing plans to erect 200 wind turbines, with a total output of 600 megawatts, on Shetland’s Lang Kames. It seems like a great idea and will be a lifeline to the inhabitants. We can watch with interest and maybe follow in their footsteps to be an island that exports energy. Although it is a better idea to conserve energy to reduce the demand. I personally would prefer to see micro generating ideas flourish so we can all be independent of the big suppliers.
Environmental
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