Energy for Rural and Island Communities. Proceedings of the Second International Conference, Held at Inverness, Scotland, 1–4 September 1981

390 Pages·1982·11.418 MB·English

by  John Twidell (Eds.)

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Energy for Rural
and
Island Communities
II
Proceedings of the Second International Conference,
held at Inverness, Scotland
1-4 September 1981
Edited by
JOHN TWIDELL
Energy Studies Unit and
Department of Applied Physics,
University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, Scotland
Sponsored and assisted by
U.N.E.S.C.O.
U.K. Department of Energy
British Council
Scottish Solar Energy Group
Occidental Oil Company (Kirkwall)
PERGAMON PRESS
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First edition 1982
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Energy for rural and island communities, II.
Includes indexes.
1. Power resources —Congresses. I. Twidell, John.
TJ163.15. E533 1982 621.042 82-416
AACR2
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Energy for rural and island communities II
1. Power resources — Congresses
I. Twidell, John
333.79Ί1Ό91734 HD9502.A2
ISBN 0-08-027606-7
In order to make this volume available as economically and
as rapidly as possible the authors' typescripts have been
reproduced in their original forms. This method unfor-
tunately has its typographical limitations but it is hoped
that they in no way distract the reader.
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter
Preface
Renewable energy supplies and increased efficiency of use of energy are two
rapidly expanding subjects. The rate of progress between the first conference
in this series in 1980 and the second in 1981 is impressive. Some of these
developments are reflected in these Proceedings, and some specific examples
should be noted:
(a) Generation of power from the wind is now an established industry in
Denmark.
(b) Wind generation of electricity into the first U.K. nationalised
supply grid has started in Orkney. On these island sites the wind
regimes are strong and supplies substitute for expensive oil.
(c) Wave energy devices are now being actively considered for relatively
small, near to shore sites. The power would be generated for local
consumption on island networks.
(d) Small scale hydro power systems are recognised to be of economic
potential. Manufacture of small turbines with electronic controllers
has started on a commercial basis.
(e) Water pumping for irrigation is possibly now economic in the tropics,
powered by solar engines or photovoltaic arrays.
(f) Solar crop driers, passive solar heating of buildings, and photoelectric
generation at the 10 kW level are all present developments with
important economic consequences.
(g) Energy surveys and planning for rural and island communities point to
the need for careful integration of a range of energy supplies.
(h) As usual with renewable energy supplies, a multidisciplinary approach
from biology to social science is obviously necessary to optimise
systems and gain greatest benefit. Thus the conference whose
participants came from a wide range of backgrounds was considered both
beneficial and stimulating.
The 150 participants from 20 countries who attended this year's conference found
encouragement that the subject is becoming real. Last year the opportunity and
need for special consideration of rural and island communities was recognised.
This year the engineering and technology for practical installations was
apparent. Of particular importance was the active cooperation between
ν
vi Preface
participants from all countries as common problems were realised. This has been
the year of the Brandt report for North- South economic and development
cooperation and we were pleased to play our part in supporting this aspiration.
My own personal thanks must be expressed to our Sponsors, the Orkney office of the
Occidental Oil Company for sponsoring our dinner speaker, U.N.E.S.O. for sponsoring
some overseas participants, the Inverness Council for hosting a most successful
reception in the Town House, the staff of Eden Court Theatre Conference Centre,
and the secretarial staff of the Energy Studies Unit and Department of Applied
Physics, University of Strathclyde. Without their help and the added blessings
of excellent weather the conference would not have been so successful.
The Third Conference is to be held in September 1983. Emphasis will be on
practical case studies and demonstrations of successful programmes that clearly
benefit rural and island communities throughout the World.
John Twidell,
Energy Studies Unit,
University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow.
Review of Renewable Energy
Development and Use in Scotland
H. Wyper**, F. Riddoch* and J. Twidell**
* *Department of Applied Physics and Energy Studies Unit,
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
*Department of Physics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
KEYWORDS
Renewable ; energy; review; Scotland.
INTRODUCTION
Our review has three objectives:
(i) To list the names, addresses and brief details of organisations and
individuals engaged in renewable energy supply, development and use in
Scotland. To list examples of renewable energy installations.
(ii) To discuss, by comparison with the available potential, the relative
stage of development for each type of energy source.
(iii) To evaluate the positive and negative factors which influence this
development.
Environmental conditions and energy use requirements in Scotland are frequently
different from the rest of the U.K. and Europe. Within Scotland, Eig. 1, the
Highlands and Islands area is noteworthy with a dispersed population in regions of
great renewable energy potential and having to meet high conventional energy
costs. The central belt of Scotland is an area of high population density where
traditional energy supplies would not be easy to change. In general, business
and industry are experienced in engineering, including electronics, and looking
for new outlets.
These are some of the reasons why renewable energy options in Scotland must be
considered distinctively. Indeed it should be taken as a matter of scientific
principle that since renewable supplies draw from the dispersed environment, each
locality or region has its own optimum blend of renewable energy supplies and end
uses. The planning, development and functioning of such systems must therefore
be done with each locality individually, considered. It follows moreover that a
policy of encouraging renewable energy use will be a policy to encourage rural
development with dispersed manufacturing and business activity. Thus even within
Scotland very diverse renewable energy policies can be expected.
3 A1.1
4 Η. Wyper, F. Riddoch and J. Twidell
Until recently the case for emphasizing Scotland's renewable energy resources,
especially for the Islands, has made little impact on U.K. central government.
However there are encouraging signs that this negative response is changing,
(Pooley 1981, D.O.E. 1981b).
We have classified renewable energy sources according to Table 1. Each type and
subtype is coded by a number, e.g. wind 7, biogas 1.1. The term 'solar' is not
used in the general sense of all energy ultimately arising from the Sun, but as
only that energy initially used as solar radiation. Peat, geothermal energy, and
certain secondary uses of energy are mentioned, although they are not strictly
renewable. However their use is often considered in association with renewable
supplies.
TABLE 1
Classification of Renewable Supplies by Source and a Listing of
the Appendices.
1. BIOMASS APP' ENDICES
1.1 Biogas
1.2 Seaweed A. Public bodies and Institutions
1.3 Fermentation
1.4 Peat B. Consultancy
1.5 Wood
1.6 Waste C. Manufacturers and Agents
2. HYDRO D. Research and Development
3. GEOTHERMAL E. Education
4. SOLAR F. Existing installations
4.1 Passive solar heating
4.2 Crop Drying G. IInnddiivviidduuaallss ^^
4.3 Solar water heating
4.4 Focused solar collectors
4.5 Photovoltaics
5. TIDAL
6. WAVE
7. WIND
THE POTENTIAL FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY IN SCOTLAND: INTRODUCTORY SURVEY
Various aspects can be considered:
(i) The Potential of Supply
This must be judged from the properties of the environment. Situated at the
North East edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Scotland, has wind and wave power
potential as great as any populated part of the Earth. Off the West coast
and the major island groups, the power in the wind averages over 300 W per m2
A1.2
Review of Renewable Energy Development 5
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN SCOTLAND 1981
Fig. 1 \
PROMINENT INSTALLATIONS | SHETLAND
General Symbols 0
Φ Solar heat
Solar photovoltaic
> Large wind (* 300 kW)
¥ Small wind (10-200 kW)
x/t/f Wave
\ Hydro
t Tidal
Τ Wood Fuels, charcoal
D Distillery energy by-product
,8ms"
β Biogas
Other Symbols _^
• —- Wave power contour 70 kW m
• --8 -Isovent, 8 ms-^
ρ At planning stage
A1.3
6 Η. Wyper, F. Riddoch and J. Twidell
of wind front (average wind velocity ~7 ms '), and in the deep water waves off1
shore the potential power averages over 70 kW per m of wave front. This may
present an over simplistic picture of the theory and technology of wind and
wave power extraction, but the importance of these resources is now well
documented and accepted (E.T.S.U.).
Hydro power potential is moderate compared with many regions of the World,
but nevertheless is the greatest in the U.K. The present installed hydro-
electric plant capacity is 1,052 MW (3 χ 109 kWh year"1) by the North of
Scotland Hydro Electric Board, 123 MW (0.3 χ 109 kWH year-1) by the South of
Scotland Electricity Board and perhaps 1 MW in a range of private schemes.
The potential for further development has not been fully assessed. In 1965
the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board indicated that a further 483 MW
of primary hydro supply was being considered for their network, but this did
not include the potential for microhydro schemes down to ~-5kW capacity
(N.S.H.B. 1965).
Unfortunately the full impact of hydro electricity is lessened by treating it
as a primary energy resource alongside fossil and nuclear fuels. The latter
have very large thermal losses, -70%, at electrical generation. Whereas
the hydro power resource has little loss. Thus Scottish hydro production is
often presented as only 4% of the initial primary sources. However the
fraction of electricity sent out by hydro is 10% of the total after
generation. With full development of Scottish hydropower this could rise
to 20%, and with more efficient end use of electricity this fraction could
be considerably higher. Even now the 10% contribution of hydroelectricity
to the Scottish network with its low generation and works cost is a substan-
tial reason for the lower electricity costs in Scotland compared with England
Solar energy from sunshine has great importance in Scotland despite the small
proportion of direct radiation and relatively low yearly energy flux. The
major use apart from plant growth is to provide heat for buildings, hot
water supply and industrial process heat. Obviously it is sensible to always
consider solar input as a fuel saver, for instance to increase background
space heat in buildings, to preheat water for conventional heating systems
and to partially dry agricultural products. The long space heating season in
Scotland (-10 months in the North) allows maximum use of expenditure on
solar design. In particular, optimising passive solar input to buildings
becomes of equal or greater importance in Scotland than in Southern England,
(MacGregor 1981). Space cooling is not needed in Scotland.
Fuels from biological sources must be seriously considered. Far greater
use could be made of the traditional supplies of wood and peat, and other
developments such as biogas, fuel alcohol, and pyrolytic gases may be
important. Since Scotland is a major region for forestry and fermentation
industries, it is of the greatest importance to consider the options being
developed worldwide in biofuel technology.
The full potential of all renewable sources in Scotland must include these
and many other options. Each option is considered in greater detail within
this review, and the conclusions summarised.
(ii) The Potential of Use
Scotland is rich in conventional energy resources and present use is
dependent on coal, oil, gas and nuclear electricity, Fig. 2. Details of
these resources can be found in U.K. government and other publications. The
overall picture is that coal is relatively abundant, but the geological
A1.4
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