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Scottish Wind Power

September 5, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Scotland is a windy country. Most wind turbines in the European Union produce electricity at an average of 25% of their maximum rated power as a result of the variability of wind resources. The west and northern coasts of Scotland have an average capacity of 31% or more. Some wind farms in Scotland have achieved more than 50% capacity over the course of a year.

As of the end of last year, Scotland had more than 8 GW of installed wind power capacity. This included 7.8 GW of onshore wind and 623 MW of offshore wind generators. Estimates are that more than 11 GW of onshore wind could be installed in Scotland. The total offshore potential is far greater than that but would be much more expensive. There are multiple large-scale wind farms proposed or under construction in Scotland.

All of this growth in wind power has led to some remarkable results. During the first half of 2019, wind turbines in Scotland produced enough electricity to power every home in the country twice over. Scottish wind farms generated nearly 10 million megawatt-hours between January and June, which is equal to the consumption of 4.5 million homes during that period. That is enough to take care of all of Scotland’s homes plus a large portion of northern England’s.

Scotland has set a target of generating half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and decarbonizing its energy system almost entirely by 2050. The recent performance of its wind power installations shows that the country might be able to reach its goal much sooner than anticipated.

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Scotland’s Wind Farms Generate Enough Electricity to Power Nearly 4.5 Million Homes

Photo, posted March 27, 2017, courtesy of Ian Dick via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

China And Plastic Waste

April 26, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In January 2018, China enacted its “National Sword” policy which banned the import of most plastics and other materials headed for that country’s recycling processors. Those processors had handled nearly half of the world’s recyclable waste for the past quarter century. China took this step because the deluge of soiled and contaminated materials was overwhelming its processing facilities and creating yet another environmental problem for the country, this time not even of its own making.

Prior to China’s ban, 95% of the plastics collected for recycling in the European Union and 70% in the U.S. were sold and shipped to Chinese processors. A combination of favorable rates for shipping in cargo vessels that carried Chinese goods abroad and low Chinese labor rates made it a very profitable enterprise.

Before China’s ban, only 9% of globally discarded plastics were being recycled and 12% were burned. The rest ended up in landfills or simply dumped into the environment. Over the coming decade, as many as 11 million tons of plastic will have to find a new place to be processed or otherwise disposed of. There is already evidence that plastic waste is accumulating in countries that are dependent on exporting. In many places, including a number of American cities, there are curtailed collections and new restrictions on what kinds of plastics are accepted.

Some experts are hopeful that China’s ban might actually have an upside if it leads to better solutions for managing the world’s waste. North America and Europe need to expand processing capabilities and manufacturers need to make their products more easily recyclable. Mostly, the Chinese ban should be a wake-up call to the world on the need to greatly reduce single-use plastics.

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