Orkney Council To Look At Proposals To Become Territory Of Norway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The Orkney Islands could change their status in the UK or even become a self-governing territory of Norway under new proposals.
These paragraphs outline their possible strategy.
A motion will go before the council next week to investigate “alternative forms of governance”.
Council leader James Stockan said Orkney does not get fair funding with its current relationship within the UK.
He wants to look at Crown Dependencies like the Channel Islands and overseas territories like the Falkland Islands.
He suggested another possible future could be like the Faroe Islands – which is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Councillor Stockan told BBC Radio Scotland there were many areas where Orkney was being “failed dreadfully” by both the UK and Scottish governments.
These are my thoughts.
Has Orkney Been Failed Dreadfully By The UK And Scottish Governments?
I wouldn’t be surprised, if the legal and economic framework between the Orkney, Scotland and the UK, dates back hundreds of years and didn’t really expect to see a more independent Scotland.
This is a quote from Council leader James Stockan.
And the funding we get from the Scottish government is significantly less per head than Shetland and the Western Isles to run the same services – we can’t go on as we are.
I could argue, they should be similar.
Orkney’s Income From Oil, Gas And Wind
Orkney doesn’t have Shetland’s oil, gas and wind infrastructure, so perhaps Scotland and the UK, think Orkney is the other’s problem.
Wind Development In Orkney, Shetland And The Western Isles
This map from Cross Estate Scotland shows all the wind contracts for Orkney, Shetland and The Western Isles.
These wind farms could send wind power to Orkney.
- 7 – Ayre – 1008 MW
- 13 – West of Orkney – 2000 MW
That is a total of 3008 MW.
These wind farms could send wind power to Shetland.
- 18 – Ocean Winds – 500 MW
- 19 – Arven – 1800 MW
- 20 – ESB Asset Development – 500 MW
That is a total of 2800 MW.
These wind farms could send wind power to the Western Isles.
- 14 – Havbredey – 1400 MW
- 15 – N3 Project – 495 MW
- 16 – Spiorad na Mara – 840 MW
That is a total of 2735 MW.
On this quick look, it does appear that there is a fair balance of investment in wind power between Orkney, Shetland and The Western Isles.
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub is being planned and it has its own web site.
It looks like it will be linked to the West of Orkney wind farm.
The Ferries
CouncilStockan says this about the ferries.
We are really struggling at the moment, we have to replace the whole ferry fleet which is older than the CalMac fleet.
And it is well-known, that the Scottish Nationalist Party got into a muddle with ferries.
Conclusion
If you read the Wikipedia entry for Orkney, the islands would appear to have a sound future, based on hydrogen, tourism and wind.
I would hope that a discussion around some good local food and the local whisky could sort out Otkney’s worries.
The Anonymous Widower 
Wow, I managed to miss that particular story! In one way, it doesn’t surprise me, the N Isles have always been politically independent, Orkney having a Lib Dem MP and a council full of independents (plus a couple of Greens). Be interesting to see what comes out of these discussions.
Comment by Peter Robins | July 2, 2023 |
I think, they’re just being independent. But tourism is doing well. My Scottish friends, say it is too expensive to get there.
Comment by AnonW | July 3, 2023 |
Orkney may have huge wind potential but its not going to be able to shift that energy to where its needed to be consumed. Today we’ve had good wind output but several GW have had to be constrained off the system most of the day due to the inadequate transmission system compounded by high solar output further depressing demand at DNO level during peak sunlight. Nett wasted generation is nearly 70GWh was over 80GWh yesterday. Orkney need to invest in Green hydrogen production and ship it by sea.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | July 2, 2023 |
They’re building one at Flotta in the old oil terminal. They also intend to refuel passing ships.
Comment by AnonW | July 3, 2023 |
Arghh good decision. Hydrogen gets a lot of negative press about its full cycle efficiency which isn’t great although in the round no worse than diesel but it currently offers the best energy density alternative to diesel for heavy transport applications so it has to be pursued as i remain sceptical that batteries will ever be able to match its energy density.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | July 3, 2023
It’s not just hydrogen’s inefficiency that will be the problem, but the fact that the main way of producing the stuff, electrolysis, needs large amounts of water, of which there is a shortage on the islands. You can add desalination, but that too needs large amounts of power (and cost). Add the energy needs and costs for transporting the stuff, and you may well end up using more energy to create the H than you output.
A 330MW interconnector linking Dounreay with Orkney should be complete by 2027-8, pending formal approval from Ofgem. This in turn links with the upgrade to Moray, and should be a much better way of improving the way Orkney uses its power.
A recent edition of Radio 4’s Costing the Earth included an interview with a lady on Orkney who can see a wind turbine spinning round from her home, but has to pay sky-high prices for her own usage. The whole electricity pricing strategy needs a complete overhaul to align with the change from large centralised power stations to large numbers of small renewable generators. I assume that the mention of Orkney joining Norway or Denmark is just to grab headlines, as it doesn’t much sense economically. But more devolution to the N Isles would help them make better use of their natural resources, and should be on the table.
Comment by Peter Robins | July 3, 2023
An update on hydrogen vs battery in Australian mining trucks (don’t get much heavier than that) at https://cleantechnica.com/2023/07/05/australian-mining-companies-chose-battery-electric-over-hydrogen-fuel-cell-mining-trucks/
I too had doubts over whether batteries could handle the heavier side of transport, but the more examples like this I read, the more reassured I become. I still have large doubts over whether enough batteries can be produced in a reasonable time-frame to replace all the fossil fuel vehicles. But we will see.
Comment by Peter Robins | July 5, 2023
As a follow-up on hydrogen, I’ve just been reading an interesting article on Iberdrola’s new plant in Puertollano in Spain https://www.lainformacion.com/clima/iberdrola-acelera-operativa-nueva-planta-hidrogeno-verde-puertollano/2881238/ This plant, part of which started operating last year, combines a 35MWp solar farm combined with a 20MW battery to power a 20MW electrolyser (currently the largest in Europe), which supplies a nearby fertiliser plant for ammonia production (this is a large industrial estate with numerous similar plants). This states that each kg of H needs 10 litres of water. However, that compares very well with traditional steam reformation, which needs 22 litres.
The article doesn’t have anything to say on costs, other than that production costs are the main obstacle. But the Economist last week had a lengthy article on hydrogen “Can a viable industry emerge from the hydrogen shakeout?”, which quoted a McKinsey consultant estimating that green hydrogen costs “between $4.50 and $7 per kilogram” today, which may reduce to $2-2.50 by the end of the decade – compared to <$2 for grey hydrogen today. At those prices, it's best to concentrate on replacing existing hydrogen-using industries, where users may be prepared to pay higher prices to clean up their industry, especially if subsidised by government. "It is increasingly clear that hydrogen makes much more sense in some areas than others."
Comment by Peter Robins | July 12, 2023
The hydrogen plant, I worked in at Runcorn, electrolysed brine to produce hydrogen and chlorine and some of the newer electrolysers can electrolyse brine.
Comment by AnonW | July 3, 2023 |
Ofgem has just granted final approval for the Orkney interconnector https://renews.biz/86995/thumbs-up-for-orkney-transmission-link/
Comment by Peter Robins | July 14, 2023 |