Talking-up Scotland

(c) renewableenergymagazine.com

I reported earlier on the use of surplus wind energy to produce hydrogen from seawater

MAJOR NEWS: World’s first tidal-powered hydrogen generated in Scotland after £3 million funding from SNP Government

Now the final element of the system, the fuel cells store is in place to complete this pioneering technology which is the first in the World. Here’s a more technical explanation from Tidal Energy yesterday:

‘The fuel cell is the final aspect of the hydrogen generation system being developed in Orkney as part of the Surf ‘n’ Turf project – a pilot project looking to circumvent local grid constraints by generating hydrogen from tidal and wind energy. Other elements of the system include an electrolyser which has been installed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC) tidal test site on the island of Eday. It produced the world’s first tidal-powered hydrogen in August this year. Once produced, hydrogen will be stored and transported to Kirkwall where the fuel cell will convert it back into electricity for use by the inter-island ferries whilst berthed at the pier.’

The project was funded by a £1.3 million grant from the Scottish government.

http://tidalenergytoday.com/2017/09/28/hydrogen-fuel-cell-unveiled-in-scotland/

(c) fiskerforum.dk

You’ll remember this ‘8% of the population…’ headline.

With only 8% of the population, Scotland accounts for more than 28% of UK food and drink exports. Too wee to survive on our own?

Fish, especially Salmon, make up the second biggest share of UK and Scottish food and drink  exports, after Whisky in and, like the Whisky, continue to grow fast. 453 000 tonnes were landed by Scottish vessels and the value was £557 million.

We must expect the Scottish Government’s recent push for more Scottish fish to be landed in Scottish ports rather than foreign to lead to further increases. See:

To promote growth and increase economic security in Scotland’s coastal communities, Scottish fishing vessels must land 55% of catches in Scotland but the owners are not happy

https://news.gov.scot/news/fish-landings-increase

Footnote: Are my repeated ‘8%’ headlines becoming a ‘meme’ or just repetitively boring?

From TD Securities in Toronto:

‘The market was looking for a build and we got a nice little decline here,” Bart Melek, head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto, said by telephone. Investors are looking at the EIA data and “hearing what OPEC is saying and the conclusion inevitably is going to have to be that it’s very likely that the U.S. inventory numbers are going to continue to slide.’

As the OPEC reductions hold, as Turkey threatens to halt Kurdish exports, as Iraq and others reach full output capacity and as Asian demand soars, the value of Scottish oil looks like going through the roof.

 

Scottish oil heading for $60 per barrel with further increases inevitable

 

‘The age of persistently weak oil prices is nearing its end, with demand booming and a supply squeeze in the offing’ Scotland’s oil on verge of price boom

 

We need that referendum, Nicola.

(Photo PA)

Scotland produced 54% of its electricity in 2016 from renewable sources and in the first half of 2017 saw a 17% increase in generation. So, for the whole of 2017 we can, perhaps, expect an increase of 30% over the previous year. Now, in 2015, all sources generated just over 50 000 Gigawatt hours.

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/TrendElectricity

So, 54% of that in 2016 would be 27 000 Gigawatt hours. An extra 30%, say, of the 27 000 would be 8 100 giving a total of 35 100 and that would be 70% of total demand! The 100% target for 2030 looks well within reach well before target.

Scotland had also reduced its demand in 2015 by 15.4% compared to 2005-2007. That beat the Scottish Government’s 12% energy consumption reduction target for 2020, five years early.

https://news.gov.scot/news/rise-in-renewable-electricity

Watching Dunkirk the New Evidence, last night on Channel 4, I learned that contrary to myth, the RAF had not abandoned the men on the Dunkirk beaches but were actually fighting the Luftwaffe further south, out of sight. A few days previously, my daughter had been to see the film on Dunkirk with her favourite Cillian Murphy the main attraction. I remember asking her whether the film had touched on the denied evacuation of the 51^st Highland Division. It hadn’t. Neither did the Channel 4 programme.

This reminded me of one of the many reasons for my longer-term hostility to the concept of Britain, Scotland’s place in it and my desire to get out of it– where we stand in the minds of English elites.

Some readers may know the story but briefly, on the 4^th June 1940, the day after the Dunkirk evacuations, ten thousand Scots not so far away in Normandy were ordered to attack German forces. Outnumbered, outgunned and deserted by their French allies on either side, the were massacred in huge numbers and forced to retreat. When their commanding officer sought permission to retreat to the port of le Havre for evacuation, Prime Minister Churchill, ordered them to fight on. There were more deaths, capture and then five years of captivity in brutal conditions in the East. They really did have no air cover as the RAF fought to save the troops on the Dunkirk beaches.

Reading the story again (see below for a link), I was reminded of other examples of how Scots soldiers’ lives stood in the minds of British elites. Perhaps the most striking was the fatality rates of Scots (26.4%) compared to English (11.8%) regiments in World War I. Our forefathers were often first in.

http://scottishmilitary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/celebrating-scotlands-disproportionate.html

There are earlier tales such as those of English General William Wolfe’s notorious remark that it would be ‘no great mischief if they fall’ about Highland soldiers at the Battle of Quebec in 1759.

I know, ‘it’s all in the past’ but were we to be fighting for Britain again in a major war and huge numbers of Scots had been conscripted, knowing the current British elites’ true sentiments, would Scots regiments not be first in again?

The sacrifice of the 51st Highland Division and the ‘other side of Dunkirk’ at: http://www.thenational.scot/library/15357629.The_sacrifice_of_the_51st_Highland_Division_and_the__other_side_of_Dunkirk_/

 

 

As the bigger producers sell off some of their assets in the North Sea oil basin, smaller, more efficient companies often using newer technologies are exploiting the gaps.

Described as a ‘North Sea minnow’, Serica Energy is a good example, finding areas where oil can still be extracted profitably. This year they made $10.3 million after their Erskine Field produced 2 800 barrels per day.

The company plans to use its profits to make further acquisitions in the North Sea and further increase its output.

I’ve already reported on the profitability in current oil prices. See:

North Sea oil companies making $40 profit on every barrel and costs are still falling!

Also, the gloomy prospects predicted by one academic have been thoroughly dismissed. See:

An Edinburgh University Professor says North Sea oil and gas has only ten years left while the Wall Street Journal describes it as an ‘oil hot spot’ and Oil and Gas UK doesn’t recognise his figures. Who’s right?

https://www.rms-recruitment.co.uk/2017/09/north-sea-minnow-serica-posts-healthy-profit-hunting-for-acquisitions/

I’ve already reported on a number of new technology areas where Scotland is punching above its weight, so to speak, including these:

‘Why your first robot might speak with a Scottish accent’

SNP help further impressive growth in new technology sector as: ‘Number of Scottish games firms grows 600% in five years’

Now, the Scottish Business News Network has raised the question of whether Scotland can become a ‘powerhouse’ in another new technology – Blockchain. There will be a conference on the issue at Scotchain17 on 13^th October and the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics already has a Blockchain Technology Laboratory.

Blockchain is an information handling system of the kind underpinning Bitcoin which is very secure against hackers and, I read, with little understanding, has a ‘high Byzantine fault tolerance.’ From the sbbn report:

‘Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse MSP, will make the opening address to ScotChain17 and is expected to discuss Scotland’s potential to become a powerhouse in blockchain technology. Scotland has made great strides around blockchain during 2017 and in June the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics opened the doors to its Blockchain Technology Laboratory, one of the world’s first centres of its kind. From start-ups to large corporates, more investment and resources are being put into blockchain research and innovation than ever before in 2017.’

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/09/27/can-scotland-become-powerhouse-blockchain-technology/

I won’t pretend any further understanding. Here’s the Wikipedia entry. Make of it what you can.

A blockchain^[1][2][3] – originally block chain^[4][5] – is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.^[1][6] Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block,^[6] a timestamp and transaction data.^[7] By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. A blockchain can serve as “an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.”^{[8][not in citation given (See discussion.)]} For use as a distributed ledger a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which needs a collusion of the network majority.

Blockchains are secure by design and are an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain.^[9] This makes blockchains potentially suitable for the recording of events, medical records,^[10][11] and other records management activities, such as identity management,^[12][13][14] transaction processing, documenting provenance, or food traceability.^[15]

The first distributed blockchain was conceptualised by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and implemented the following year as a core component of the digital currency bitcoin, where it serves as the public ledger for all transactions.^{[1][not in citation given (See discussion.)]} The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double spending problem without the use of a trusted authority or central server. The bitcoin design has been the inspiration for other applications.^[1][3]

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

Footnote: Those, like me, more interested in Byzantine generals than computers, should click on the link on Byzantine fault tolerance on the wikipedia page.

Fred Goodwin’s old house © Getty Images

If you buy a house priced at £1 million in Scotland, the Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) will be £78 350 for a main property or £108 350 for an additional property. In England, it would only be £43 750 or £73 750. So, that’s a progressive redistributive tax of the kind you expect from a left-of-centre party? I thought Labour said the SNP weren’t really left-of-centre?

According to Property Wire magazine, LBTT isn’t hurting the rest of the market but only the upper end of the market with sales down from 79 in the first half of 2016 to 56 in the first half of 2017. So, once more, a good progressive policy from the SNP?

I can get a bit moist around the eyes hearing sad tales of animal suffering but for some reason this story of hurting millionaires isn’t affecting me much.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/high-property-tax-rates-scotland-hitting-million-pound-property-market/

(c) scottishconstructionnow.com

This is the latest development in the Scottish government’s plans to build 50 000 new affordable homes in this term of government. I’ve already noted the difference between the Scottish and English governments on this crucial task:

Scottish Government increases supply of affordable housing and builds at more, perhaps much more, than twice the rate as in England

Angus council will build 600 new homes over the next five years with the support of the £25 million package.

Communities convener, Councillor Craig Fotheringham, said:

‘We will improve the provision of affordable housing across Angus by building houses of the highest quality in the places where people need them most. Doing so will further enhance Angus’ ever-growing reputation as a great place to live, work and visit. Accessibility and energy efficiency will be the cornerstones of our housing design, so that we deliver homes that will stand the test of time for the benefit of people now and in future generations.’

http://www.scottishhousingnews.com/17497/angus-set-for-600-new-affordable-homes-as-councillors-agree-strategic-plans/

 

(c) businessforscotland.com

On May 30^th, 2017, I wrote:

According to Yasushi Kimura, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan, and chairman of petroleum conglomerate JXTG Holdings:

‘In 2017, global demand is likely to exceed supply … and crude prices are likely to … rise toward $60 by the end of the year.’

https://www.oilandgaspeople.com/news/14313/opec-oil-cut-extension-renews-asias-crude-supply-worries/

See this:

Kimura looks like being correct as Brent prices are holding at $59 per barrel and it’s only September.

This may turn out to be a conservative guess. See:

‘According to investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald Europe Oil could hit $60 a barrel by the year end if the OPEC pact to curb oil output is extended. The OPEC pact has already been agreed to end 2017 with signs it might be expected to hold up into 2018 and even exceed that figure to £70. These are well above profitability levels.’

https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/2017/05/24/scottish-oil-to-hit-60-per-barrel/

Later in July, I wrote:

Will Scotland’s oil hit $100 (or more?) a barrel again after 2020?

I wouldn’t bet against it.