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Northern Scotland goes from nuclear to wind and waves, DW 19 Oct 12, The sparsely populated region of Caithness in northern Scotland once relied heavily on the development of nuclear energy for electric power and for job creation. Now wind and wave energy are set to take over.

A
ferry has docked at the pier in Scrabster, the northernmost harbour on
the British mainland. It takes just 90 minutes to get from here to the
Scottish archipelago of Orkney when the weather is good. The sea in
between is called the Pentland Firth, one of the world’s wildest
stretches of water. It’s known for its high winds and strong currents.
But, it is these elements that could secure the future of the region,
in the form of renewable energy….. New jobs in green energy
Making sure the highly qualified work force has prospects to stay in
the region after the closure of Dounreay also is a priority for Roy
Kirk. He heads the Caithness section of Highlands and Islands
Enterprise, the public agency responsible for developing the region.
Kirk sees the wind parks being set up off the coast as a key source of
employment for the coming years. At the same time, on the other side
of the Pentland Firth in Orkney, marine energy is being tested and
perfected at EMEC, the European Marine Energies Centre. “Because of
the progress made in Orkney, we are now ready to step into a
commercial dimension of marine power “, says Kirk.
There are still 2,000 engineers, safety experts, managers and other
skilled people working for Dounreay at the moment. Kirk is convinced
their qualifications are directly transferable to marine energy.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is working with the local chamber of
commerce to make sure as many of them as possible stay here to help
transform the region into a center for the offshore renewables sector.
Caithness Chamber of Commerce head Trudy Morris, secured funding from
the Scottish government, the European Social Fund, the Nuclear
Decomissioning Authority and Dounreay to make the transition work.
http://www.dw.de/northern-scotland-goes-from-nuclear-to-wind-and-waves/a-16318988

October 20, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, UK