Applecross – Energy Rich Power Poor. Why Scotland’s Renewable Energy Revolution Isn’t Working
How Scotland’s great potential for renewable energy is thwarted. Scotland has abundant sources of renewable energy but local communities and Scotland’s devolved government lack the power to fully exploit that potential. This film is the story of Applecross a small community in the scenic Scottish Highlands which should be awash with wind and hydro energy since it nestles under the UK’s highest mountain road.
Instead, residents have some of the country’s highest energy bills and 7 in 10 live in fuel poverty. The 250-strong community has tried its hardest to tackle this. Locals raised nearly a million pounds ten years ago to unlock more Westminster funding for Apple Juice their community hydro project. But they’re still waiting for the extra grid connection promised by SSE – the private company overseen by Ofgem on behalf of the British Government that decides on grid upgrades. And there’s nothing anyone in Scotland can do about it because energy and grid connection are powers reserved to Westminster – not Holyrood.
So, Applecross has no public electric-car chargers, no electric showers in the hotel, no new businesses, fuel poverty and a dwindling population.
Energy-rich but without the power to make that work for local people. It’s a situation replicated across rural Scotland and Scotland’s islands but unheard of in other small countries at our latitude. The film explores the challenges community energy in Scotland faces and the problems created by a power grid that isn’t set up to meet their needs.
I will preface what follows with: I used to work for MANWEB (now Scottish Power) as an electrical power distribution engineer (not a technician). I was responsible for rural networks in mid-Wales. I now develop renewables and if needed – design & build private wire systems up to & including 33kV.
What Applecross needs is an energy system. In the case of electricity, a possibility would be to 3 phase the network around Applecross. Cheap, easy & doable.
There are also some contradictions in the video: the hydro system seems to be focused on exports, whilst a significant part of the community is in energy poverty.
Hydro should have an LCOE of perhaps 4pence/kWh (we are developing such a project now). Even with DUoS charges you could sell elec @ 10pence/kWh locally in Applecross. What’s not to like? They have a 90kW turbine and could put in another – but cann’t export. Again, 3phase the network locally and… convert surplus into hydrogen. Use the hydrogen for heating. If it is a PEM electrolyser that is used, recover the waste heat (@ 60c) and use it in the poly-tunnels. Doable & confirmed by ITM.
I used to know some of the SSE people (in R&D) – I’m happy to help the Applecross people as an ex-systems engineer – DNO engineers are a funny bunch (caste?) and are not comfortable talking to what they see as amateurs (although the people in the vid seem pretty professional to me). There we are – if the Applecross people want help, happy to give it.
A link or title to the film is missing. Shame as this is such an important topic.
Link has now uploaded, sorry
The privatised electricity system,. what could possibly go wrong, allowing private profit to control a vital human infrastructural need? And controlled from the political magnificence of Westminster. We have a similar problem in NZ, the system isn’t fully privatised, but in practice it is, we have huge hydro resources producing 60% of our power at a few cents/kWh, but we pay on average 32 c/kWh. (We pay at the most expensive margin, a system designed by neoliberal zealots) – It’s exactly the same for isolated communities as in Applecross. Nothing other than serious government action to deal to private companies or preferable de-privatise them is a solution, but it’ll never happen bar a total disintegration of the UK/Scottish economy and some sort of revolution.