Talking-up Scotland

(c) SSE

Strong winds in June resulted in a 24% increase in onshore wind farm output over last year. It’s only the most recent of many records in the renewables sector. These are only from as far back as May:

New Scottish records in the generation of renewable energy just keep on coming

Another renewable energy production record for Scotland

‘Scotland Sets [Another] New Wind Power Record’

You’ll find numerous other reports if you just search for ‘record’ on this site. All of this, further increases confidence in the prediction of 100% renewable supply by 2030.

Scotland’s energy 100% renewable by 2030?

A blustery June meant that wind generated more than 1 million MW which would have been enough for 3 million homes or 124% of the energy needs of more house than we have! Remember we also have offshore windfarms and tidal turbines.

On the 6^th of June, alone, enough wind power was generated to power 5.68 million homes, if we had them.

Over the whole six months of the year, wind turbines generated more than 6.5 million MW, enough to power 3 million homes.

The only barrier remains storage but developments are underway on this too. See:

Surf ‘n’ Turf: Innovative new tidal power generation for Orkney

Suddenly there’s a brilliant alternative to oil rig decommissioning costs. You can store Scotland’s surplus renewable electricity with it and it’s low-tech.

http://www.insider.co.uk/news/blustery-weather-blows-scotland-record-10846242

 

The weak pound has been attributed with responsibility for an 18% growth in UK tourism spending while in Scotland foreign spending surged by 27% on last year. We must assume the difference is due to other factors some of which I may have identified in:

North Americans lead surge in Scottish tourism because they feel safer here

‘Outlander links see visitors to historic sites soaring’

Visitors to Scotland’s historic sites surge by 470 000 to reach more than 4.5 million, breaking all records, in only 11 months!

Once more we have evidence of the fast-growing strength in the Scottish economy I’ve referred to in earlier pieces.

http://www.insider.co.uk/news/tourism-spending-high-street-soars-10842615

© sse

Costing £2.6 billion, the Beatrice Windfarm in the outer Moray firth is expected to bring £530 million in economic benefits, especially for the North-East region. The farm will provide enough electricity for around 450 000 homes or upward of 1 million people!

In terms of employment, the equivalent of 5 800 years or ten years for 580 people is estimated

The Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy said:

‘The significant benefits to the Highland and Moray regions will be felt for a long time to come, as those areas are set to benefit from over £6m in community projects, as well as the creation of over 800 jobs during the construction phase, including assembly work at Nigg Energy Park, and around 90 long-term jobs during the operations and maintenance phase, which will produce a particular boost to employment at Wick harbour.’

http://www.insider.co.uk/news/beatrice-offshore-windfarm-outer-moray-10842662

There have been so many good news stories reported here, I thought it might be useful if you had a summary you can pull out whenever you need to put a Unionist straight. So here are the Health ones:

Major improvements in state of the NHS Scotland estate under SNP administration as NHS England estate crumbles

‘NHS across UK has much to learn from Scotland?’ The King’s Fund told us this in 2013!

Though we already have the highest rate of donors in the UK, Scottish government to introduce soft opt-out system for organ donation. Does this tell us something more?

Hundreds of English mental health patients forced to travel hundreds of miles to Scotland for treatment, due to bed shortages

Scottish stillbirth and early infant death rates lowest in the UK and approaching lowest in the world

As NHS Scotland’s standards of care continue to exceed those of NHS England, the Scottish Government does not rest

Record NHS Scotland workforce announced as NHS England struggles with far worse levels

NHS Scotland’s Accident and Emergency Departments continue to outperform

NHS Scotland staffing climbs to a record high as the Tories create a catastrophic fall in NHS England

Trust me, I’m a BBC TV Doctor and I can assure you NHS Scotland is much better.

NHS Health Check: Which part of the UK is doing the best?

The massive superiority of Scotland’s A&E Services over those in England during the Winter of 2016/2017

SNP Government invests £2.5million so that GPs have more time with patients

Extra £6.3m for Scottish Ambulance Service to further strengthen the world’s best A&E service

 

© offshoreenergytoday.com

There have been so many good news stories reported here, I thought it might be useful if you had a summary you can pull out whenever you need to put a Unionist straight. So here are the energy ones. I’ve done the economy generally. I’ll do health, housing and others separately:

Surf ‘n’ Turf: Innovative new tidal power generation for Orkney

New giant wind-farm off Fife coast to create 500 jobs and supply 325 000 homes

North Sea oil industry still strong

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

Another 200 new North Sea jobs

Independent Scotland’s oil wealth is assured as Aramco chief predicts huge shortages

Scotland’s renewables expertise continues to earn millions.

‘FTSE bounces back amid rising oil price’

‘Wave of new jobs hits the North Sea’

New Scottish records in the generation of renewable energy just keep on coming

Most North Sea oil and gas firms no longer planning job cuts and reporting growing confidence in recruitment according to Bank of Scotland report

With only 10% of the population, Scotland has 55% of the community energy production of England, Wales and Northern Ireland put together

$90 per barrel for Scotland’s oil by 2020

Scotland’s oil and gas expertise earned £11.4 billion in 2015/2016 supported by Scottish Government investment

North Sea oil prices will boom as fracking faces three insurmountable barriers

Scottish Oil’s Confident Future: Three Reports

Another renewable energy production record for Scotland

As Scottish Oil and Gas moves into a third wave of prosperity, Scottish Government funding for innovation is increased

All of Scotland could have been renewables-powered in May

£290 billion of tax revenue still in the North Sea and much more to the west of Shetland

The North Sea’s Third Wave of Wealth Generation: Further evidence from BP as they start production from ‘one of the largest field redevelopments in North Sea history’

Once more Scottish energy expertise can be highly significant

‘North Sea oil output boost on horizon’ according to Reuters, only three months after we spotted it

Four more major wind farms off east coast of Scotland

44% rise in output for Premier Oil in first four months of 2017

More signs of massive oil expectations in Scotland’s waters west of Shetland and the Chinese market is desperate for it

Scotland’s renewables trend is too strong to be held back by political barriers and challenging market conditions suggesting 100% renewables by 2030 is a real possibility.

Scotland’s energy 100% renewable by 2030?

‘Work commencing on £2.6billion Beatrice wind farm energises north of Scotland’

‘Scotland Sets [Another] New Wind Power Record’

Estimates of Scotland’s oil reserves West of Shetland now massively increased to around 8 billion barrels! ‘A super-resource now on the cards.’

 

(c) bbc.co.uk

There have been so many good news stories reported here, I thought it might be useful if you had a summary you can pull out whenever you need to put a Unionist straight. So here are the general economy ones. I’ll do energy, health, housing and others separately:

Oh no, not more good news about the Scottish economy! Quick get more tissues for Ruth and Kezia. Far Less [Fewer] businesses failing in Scotland for the second quarter in a row

Scottish Government to help create 21 000 new jobs for Edinburgh and South-East Scotland

Ruth and Kezia sob as they hear Scotland is ranked as the best place in the UK to start a business. Will this good news never end?

Scotland’s hotels a better investment than those in England or Europe: SNP Administration works?

Dramatic growth in Scottish fish and shellfish farming output. More evidence we can thrive.

And again, clear evidence Scottish economy is growing

Tourists from North America flooding to Scotland in ever increasing numbers

Further evidence of growth in the Scottish economy

Unemployment at record low, employment up, economy growing, youth unemployment amongst lowest in Europe, business confidence increasing, oil jobs returning, health indicators improving to world’s best: That’ll be Norway? No? Scotland!? SNP baaaad!

Ruth, Kezia, where’s that recession? I can’t see it anywhere.

Good news for Scotland’s economy

Scottish graduates more likely to find work or further study than other UK graduates

Scotland has higher gross disposable income per head than most UK regions

Foreign investors seem more likely to create jobs in Scotland

Scotland in recession? No, the economy is growing. Are the Fraser of Allander Institute and its media followers talking through holes in their bahookies?

Scottish Government grants to further boost Scotland’s food and drink industry which already produces 28% of all UK exports

As Scottish unemployment falls, North Sea employment starts to climb again

25-year low in Scottish unemployment and increasing employment as rUK unemployment stagnates

25-year low in Scottish unemployment and increasing employment as rUK unemployment stagnates

© buildingbetterhealthcare.co.uk

See this very positive news from gov.scot:

‘The proportion of NHS buildings classified as being in good condition has improved from 58% in 2014 to 70% in 2016. The annual State of NHS Scotland Assets and Facilities report, published today, also found that satisfaction with the hospital environment has risen since 2011 and now stands at 92%. There has been a further reduction in backlog-maintenance.‎ Backlog maintenance per square metre has fallen by around 21% since 2011.’

The above improvements are the result of a £1.8 billion investment in buildings and equipment over the last four years

https://news.gov.scot/news/state-of-the-nhs-estate

In sharp contrast, the more privatised and Tory-run NHS England is falling into disrepair. In a report from GK Strategy published in April 2017, they concluded:

‘The NHS is crumbling….Quite literally, the buildings are falling apart. Our most recent assessment shows that the estate requires £5bn just to clear its existing maintenance backlog. Put another way, spending has been short term so far; the equivalent of buying a fire extinguisher every time you have a fire, rather than hiring an electrician to fix the sparking plug.’

Get on with your day-job Theresa?

https://gkstrategy.com/estate-ing-obvious/

Credit: PA Images

I’m not really one for fussing over whether it should be ‘less’ or ‘fewer’ but I think the Scottish Business New Network editor should know better. Here’s the main information:

‘New statistics from professional services firm KPMG show the number of businesses failing in Scotland fell significantly in the second quarter of 2017, compared to the same three months in 2016. Figures for the three months to 30 June 2017 reveal the total number of insolvency appointments decreased by 27% (196 down from 270) compared to the same period in 2016.’

That’s a big fall and headline material I’d say. It, of course, just adds to all the other recent stuff bringing a tear to many a Unionist’s eyes as they pray for their own country to go to the dogs just to blame the SNP.

You’ll have seen:

Unemployment at record low, employment up, economy growing, youth unemployment amongst lowest in Europe, business confidence increasing, oil jobs returning, health indicators improving to world’s best: That’ll be Norway? No? Scotland!? SNP baaaad!

and

Ruth and Kezia sob as they hear Scotland is ranked as the best place in the UK to start a business. Will this good news never end?

I get thousands of readers when I mention those two so I’m going to do it as often as I can now.

I wrote this grammatically correct piece on the same topic in April

‘Fewer Scottish businesses failing in 2017’

The above headline comes from the Scottish Business News Network, yesterday, within days of news that fewer Scottish businesses are reporting signs of difficulty than those in the rest of the UK.

Something is happening to the Scottish economy and it is very good news indeed for Indyref2, if our mainstream media will report it. This report and another on the Aberdeen office market demand growth merely adds to the optimism. Here’s a quote summing up the first part:

‘New analysis from professional services firm KPMG indicates positive signs for the Scottish economy, with a significant drop in the number of Scottish companies failing in the first three months of 2017. In the first quarter of this year, the total number of business insolvency appointments decreased by 19% (170 down from 211) compared to the same three months in 2016 (Jan to March). This decrease is reflected in both liquidation appointments (down 20%), which tend to affect smaller businesses, and administrations (down 14%), which usually involve larger organisations.’

https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/07/21/less-businesses-failing-scotland-report-shows/

© surfnturf.org

A new tidal power device will be located west of the island of Eday. Using the surplus from the existing onshore wind turbine owned by the Eday Renewable Energy trust, a 500kW electrolyser will generate hydrogen by ‘splitting’ water. Then the hydrogen will be stored as compressed gas and taken to Kirkwall to power a fuel cell there.

This is a way of storing energy so that it can be used on demand. Orkney already produces more power than it can use so this makes a lot of sense and if further developed will avoid the wasteful current practice of ‘curtailment’ where turbines are often switched off.

I’ve already written about this technology at:

Suddenly there’s a brilliant alternative to oil rig decommissioning costs. You can store Scotland’s surplus renewable electricity with it and it’s low-tech.

http://www.surfnturf.org.uk/

The Scottish Government will invest £300 million matching the UK government investment to massively enhance Edinburgh’s ‘housing, innovation, skills and culture.’ Here are the main elements:

 

£25 million for an Integrated Regional Employability & Skills Programme

£140 million to transport including £120 million for improvements Edinburgh City bypass

£20 million for improvements at West Edinburgh.

£65 million into new housing for the region.

£60 million in business and infrastructure.

£10m towards a new concert venue for the city.

 

https://news.gov.scot/news/21-000-new-jobs-for-edinburgh-and-south-east-scotland