Wednesday 18 September 2013
Wave Power, but not ruled by Britannia
In an earlier post I've argued that it would be far more sensible to develop methods of harnessing our island's abundant wave power rather than dump future generations with the problem of disposing of dangerous nuclear waste. Happily, wave power is not being entirely ignored. A company called MeyGen is to launch a project involving six underwater turbines in the Pentland Firth, where, apparently, the tides are particularly vigorous.
Sadly, British entrepreneurship is curiously absent from the project: MeyGem is jointly owned by the US investment bank Morgan Stanley, the French energy company GDF Suez S A and the Australian Atlantis Resources Corporation.
So where are all those British entrepreneural go-getters, freed by Osborne from so much red tape, loaded with low interest and easy to come by credit, and anxious to fill the space no longer crowded by the unenterprising the state?
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If I may correct you on a number of points.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the Pentland Firth project is a Scottish Government initiative not a British one. Scotland is far ahead of the UK government in developing renewable energy. It is, however held back by the restrictions imposed by being part of the UK. This is only the tip of the iceberg compared to what an independent Scotland could do.
Secondly, Aquamarine Power Ltd and Pelamis Wave Power, both Edinburgh companies are to share a slice of the £13 million support programme. These are Scottish entrepreneural go-getters, freed by Alex Salmond from so much red tape. Think of how much freer they could be if they were also freed by independence from UK red tape!
Only a YES vote for independence a year today can help Scotland fully develop its resources and know-how and free Scotland from the yoke of nuclear power and the threat of becoming the next Fukushima.
Full story...
http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-economy/8034-good-news-day-for-the-pentland-firth
Thanks for that very valuable additional information, Anonymous. I'm not so sure it's actually a correction: After all the Scottish government is still a British government, and Scottish firms are still British firms. What they'll call themselves in the event of a "Yes" vote and independence remains to be seen, but Scotland will still be part of the British Isles.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is good to know that at least two Scottish/British firms are getting a slice of the action. But if you scroll down to the comments on the site you recommend you'll see that "Wee Mac" shares my frustration that the majority of the initiative lies with foreign firms and they benefit most from the experience and profits generated.
My reference to "red tape" is meant to be ironic. In my view one person's "red tape" is another's employment security, decent working conditions, health and safety. It is not red tape that prevents employers taking on workers, but lack of demand for their products.
As for for a YES vote for independence, that's too big a subject to be discussed fully in a comment. Briefly, my own view is that we really are "Better Together," that Scotland should have "Home Rule" as advocated by the Liberals/Liberal Democrats for as long as I can remember, but remain in the UK for foreign relations, defence (where on earth would the British forces be without Scottish members?), the currency, the BBC and the weather forecast.
Somewhere the content of the blog surrounded by little arguments. Yes it is healthy for readers. They can include this kind of language in their writing skill as well as while group discussion in college.
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