|
|
|
Publications : SEPA View : 26 : HTML Version
|
FOREWORD
Renewable energy features a few times in this edition of SEPA View, at a time when consumers are learning that significant price rises in their oil, gas and electricity bills are imminent. The time is surely ripe for renewables to take centre stage?
The power of the sun is being harnessed in Dundee, Scotland’s sunniest city (see page 8). The ‘Sun City’ project aims to have nearly 700 homes powered by solar energy within the next two years. What I found most interesting, though, was the market research, which showed that 925 of people in the city believe that Dundee should generate and use renewable energy. That level of consumer power will be very hard to ignore and the project looks set for success.
On page 20, however, we can read about a more controversial issue – windfarms and their impact on Scotland’s landscapes. Our sister agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, has landscape conservation duties and has done a considerable amount of work on the subject. Windfarms are large and conspicuous, yet they offer a valuable contribution to Scotland’s future energy needs. Where does the environmental balance lie? Can Scotland devise a strategy that will allow us to benefit from this valuable renewable resource without despoiling the landscapes we love so much (and on which our tourist economy depends)? Can we afford not to?
We always try, in SEPA View, to include a range of stories from Scotland, the UK and around the world. This issue is no exception, although it is the first time (I think) that we have featured the ‘other’ SEPA – the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, whose climate change campaign is covered on page 12. Our international news section also includes stories from the USA, Australia, Mexico, Greece and Switzerland. The latter takes us back to the renewable energy theme (page 19). We report on a Swiss adventurer who is constructing a solar powered plane, in which he plans a round the world flight in 2010, powered only “by the almost infinite energy of the sun”. Fact or fantasy? That remains to be seen, but we can only applaud his aspirations!
Campbell Gemmell
SEPA Chief Executive
A full contents list for this HTML version is available via the navigation bar to the left. Alternatively, you can download the pdf version here
|
|
