(c) http://caithness-business.co.uk
An announcement is expected soon that the revitalised Nigg plant will soon be producing steel towers for the offshore wind energy sector. Owners, Global, bought the yard in 2011 and have since invested £45 million in a major upgrade. The site has already built the first turbinefor the world’s largest-planned wave energy park in the Pentland Firth. See:
This will be the second major development in Scotland’s development as a manufacturer of renewable energy plant and not just a location for its installation after the comparable revitalisation of the Kishorn Plant in Wester Ross to build the floating windfarms for the massive farm off the Kincardineshire coast. See:
Four more major wind farms off east coast of Scotland
We must hope this is just the beginning as Scotland begins to develop the infrastructure for renewable energy technology to be developed and built here and not simply imported and installed here.
Talking-up Scotland 
Probably a stupid question John, but reading the links put up to your previous articles, my concern are the conductors form Scotland to England. Knowing their propensity for robbing Scotland of its riches, does this mean they will be plundering more of our wealth?
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If we still are in the UK, yes. If not, it will be in their interest to pay the transmission costs. Remember rUK has a big electricity deficit and EDF in France has a future energy squeeze coming up because many of their nuclear plants are scheduled for prolongation engineering works or closure. Decomm cost will be humungus.
Hinkley Point is dead in the water
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Probably unless we get that referendum soon
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B(TP)
You mention the issue of transmission costs over comparatively short distances from Scotland to England. Part of the reason for this is that the National Grid is pre WW2 technology transmitting 3 phase ac which means 3 or multiples of conductors with inherent losses. The modern method of transmission of bulk electricity, or “Electrical super highway” in the industry jargon, is to use extremely high DC requiring only two conductors. There is a significant cost saving both on installation costs and transmission losses particularly in under water cables as the alternating current capacitance losses do not occur. Therefor I expect any future long distance bulk transmissions of electricity to be much cheaper.
I appologise for boring those of a more technical nature and for baffling the less technical.
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Thanks MACGILLELEABHAR, I didn’t know that, as my Natural Philosophy stopped after 1 year at Uni. I did do a second degree involving accountancy and economics so, I do understand your explanation.
Presume that means the Norwegian interconnector would have to be DC?
Any way back to Maverick. The pay in tariff for Hinckley Point 2 is a pay out per Kw. A hidden subsidy
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I need to be a bit baffled. Does me good.
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This is an excellent example of using existing skills to manufacture new products.
Had the shipyards on the Clyde been modernised in the 1960s/70s (and the unions and management been prepared to cooperate on changed working practices) then the workforce could have been redeployed to build wave generation equipment and ships on pipes for the transport of hydrogen. However,
there was a determination in Westminster and Whitehall (even though there was a fairly long period of Labour governance) to shift the balance of the economy away from heavy industry and to ‘teach the unions a lesson’. When Mrs Thatcher arrived in 1979, and with oil revenues coming in from the North Sea, she deployed these with zealous vengeance to destroy heavy industry, destroy the unions and deregulate the city.
As Alex and Bugger indicate, there is still Westminster inrransigence to upgrading the grid to transmit energy, not from Scotland to rUK, but also, and especially, to the currently sparsely populated parts of Scotland which need reliable and cheap electricity supplies (and good internet connections, too.)
A sovereign wealth fund could have provided such capital, without the downside of the hefty bonuses and dividends to investors who will squirrel it offshore.
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Yes, well said indeed.
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Line 3 should be ” …ships AND pipes …..” Apologies.
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Could be in a Salvador Dali painting.
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Or Magritte.
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