Speech by Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism, Brussels, St. Andrew's Week 2008 - on occasion of formal launch of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre
EUROPEAN ENERGY POLICY - SCOTLAND'S CONTRIBUTION
Today marks an important evolution in Scotland's contribution to European Energy Policy
We stand on the cusp of an EU-wide agreement on the future of our energy supplies - one that will have lasting consequences for subsequent generations; and one that will outlive any single administration or government
The EU can be particularly pleased at the speed at which the Energy Policy for Europe - only agreed for the first time in Spring 2007 - has moved since then from its three high level pillars of sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply; into concrete plans for action and the potential for an historic agreement on energy's contribution to climate change.
This to me is exactly the sort of role which the EU should be playing - setting the strategic framework for our energy markets, energy security and energy sustainability, whilst its member states and regions deliver.
Scotland stands squarely behind this agenda - and our domestic commitments and actions make clear that we have a crucial role to play in helping the EU realise these ambitions.
SUSTAINABILITY PILLAR - CLIMATE & ENERGY PACKAGE
Reaching an agreement on the Climage and Energy package in the Council and Parliament next month is vital not only to the future of energy in Europe, but to the future of energy across the world.
The eyes of the world are - rightly - looking to Europe at this time for leadership and for bold decisions that will give binding commitments on carbon emissions reductions and renewable energy.
it is essential that we reach agreement; and Scotland fully endorses the UK's negotiating position in the Council
SECURITY OF SUPPLY PILLAR - THE STRATEGIC ENERGY REVIEW PACKAGE
We have also watched, at this time, our economies across the EU and indeed the world, move into a period of painful adjustment and transition ot the current economic downturn.
This has come at a time when the volatility of prices in our energy markets - and volatility in the countries from which they are sourced - has provoked increasing concerns over the security of our energy supplies.
That is why it is absolutely appropriate that the EU should have issued its 2nd Strategic Energy Review - focused on security of supply.
The Scottish Government welcomes the Review's focus on the infrastructural, financial and technological commitments that the EU will have to make in the next decade to: support the transition to a low carbon economy; reduce the EU's dependence on energy imports; and maintain a comopetitive internal energy market.
COMPETITIVENESS PILLAR - THE THIRD PACKAGE ON THE INTERNAL MARKET
And that final point is also a crucial one. The EU will be unable to meet either its sustainability or security of supply ambitions without a genuinely open, competitive energy market across the EU.
That market has to be one where equal rights of access exist between all European companies and where a common regulatory framework is backed up by a common energy infrastructure that can deliver the genuinely EU-wide energy market that we all recognise is needed.
SCOTLAND'S ROLE
Scotland is uniquely placed to help the EU deliver on this ambitious agenda.
We have vast potential in renewable energy, unrivalled in Europe
We have around a quarter of both Europe's tidal and offshore wind capacity, and 10% of its potential wave power. We also have strongly-developed opportunities in hydro-power and onshore wind.
And we have the EU's largest potential carbon store in the North Sea - something that will be vital in ensuring that any future emissions from fossil fuel power generation are captured to meet our ambitious CO2 reductions targets
And in Scotland we are paving the way for this - introducing world-leading legislation committing my Government to reducing emissions by 80% by 2050.
Scotland, the UK and Europe have all benefited form a carbon-based economy. It is right then that we now meet our obligation to the rest of the world by leading on emissions reductions and the transition to a low carbon economy.
Securing agreement on the Climate & Energy package will do this - and will raise the challenge to other major economies to do likewise ahead of the crucial negotiations on a global emissions agreement in Copenhagen next year.
Scotland stands ready to play its part - and to help our partners across the EU.
We are fully committed to meeting the 2020 targets
Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has already made it clear that Scotland has reaped the natural lottery in energy twice - first in North Sea oil and gas during the 1970s; and now with renewable energy in the 21st century.
We are determined to harness our immense renewables potential - and prolong the life of our North Sea industry through carbon storage - with the spirit of innovation and invention that has been so evident throughout Scotland's history very much to the fore.
That is why I am delighted tonight to formally launch the Scottish European Green Energy Centre - and pleased to see such a wide turnout from our friends and partners across the EU to support this at a time when we mark Scotland's national celebration in St Andrew's Week.
ROLE OF SCOTTISH EUROPEAN GREEN ENERGY CENTRE
The Scottish European Green Energy Centre will play a pivotal role in positioning Scotland at the heart of research, development and deployment of low carbon energy technologies across the EU.
Scottish researchers in our universities, research institutes and commercial sectors are world leaders in low carbon energy research. Many of them are represented here tonight, and I look forward to the fruitful discussions that I know you will all have later.
The Green Energy Centre's work will complement and add value to that of existing organisations and will work closely wi the Energy Technology Partnership in particular. I see the Energy Technology Partnership as the Green Energy Centre's delivery arm and the Centre will work in parallel with the organisation to support projects being developed by them.
Our ambition for renewable energy in Europe is not just to deliver on the targets, but to shape the European energy supply of the future.
This is at the heart of the Green Energy Centre's role - that it should be a body which not only delivers low carbon energy through research, demonstration and deployment, but that it should be a body which contributes to setting the future direction of EU energy policy and legislation.
SEGEC'S capacity to act as both a research / demonstration hub and as a centre for policy expertise means that it will be able to translate and broker discussions and collaborative partnership between SMEs, researchers, policy-makers, industrial associations and the EU institutions.
This is an ambitious role - to place the Green Energy Centre as a pan-EU hub for energy research, policy making and deployment - but one which is achievable.
WHAT THE GREEN ENERGY CENTRE HAS DONE ALREADY
I am delighted that the Centre has received the support of both the European Commission and the UK Government (and am pleased that representatives from both the EC and UK are here with us tonight). The advice that we have received from Commissioner Piebalg's officials in particular has been instrumental in refining the role of the Green Energy Centre. We now have 5 strategic objectives for SEGEC:
1. Forming an alliance of partners to raise the importance of marine and tidal energy research and development (particularly focussed on the Atlantic and North Sea arcs)
2. Promoting offshore wind and deployment
3. Promoting long distance supergrid development and smart distribution grids.
4. Developing partnerships on key policy priorities of carbon capture and storage and renewable heat
5. Leading work on tackling policy and administrative barriers to development of renewable energies
But the past 12 months have not just been about business planning. Ahtough the Centre won't receive it's first permanent staff until next April, the Scottish Government, together with our partners in the Energy Technology Partnership, Scotland's Enterprise Networks, and Scotland Europa, have already made important headway under each of these 5 objectives. We have:
Represented the Green Energy Centre at the World Renewables Energy Congress in Glasgow in July
Held bilateral discussions with the European Commission on Strategic Energy Technology Plan and the Green Energy Centre's objectives;
Hosted a seminar to advise Scottish organisations on energy funding under the 7th Framework Programme and led a Scottish delegaton to the FP7 Energy Info Day during September where productive opportunities for partnership were explored;
Participated in a seminar to discuss EU Energy Policy at the Europa Institute in Edinburgh - where we articulated our Team Scotland approach to European engagement, securing support from stakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors;
Prepared a proposal and assembled an EU-wide partnership for researching and disseminating best practice in reconciling environmental and energy objectives in the deployment of wind energy under the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, which we will submit at the next round;
led a Ministerial, industry and academic study visit to Norway in October to discuss practical ways of collaborating on marine renewable energy and carbon capture & storage;
Supported projects to cooperate on offshore energy grid issues with Irish Sea and North Sea partners; And
Fed into discussion with the UK Government and the European Commission ahead of publication of the Strategic Energy Review and Offshore Wind Communication
I led a Ministerial visit to Northern Ireland
I am sure you will agree with me that this is an impressive list of achievements from an organisation that did not exist one year ago.
WHAT THE GREEN ENERGY CENTRE WILL DO IN THE YEAR AHEAD
And we will now build on that into 2009 with an agreed business plan, funding package and permanent staff in place - based in Aberdeen, but working throughout Scotland, in Brussels and across the EU.
The current discussions in Brussels are absolutely central to our work in the year ahead.
The Strategic Energy Review announcement in particular is vital in setting the framework for the Green Energy Centre and for Scotland.
The infrastructure priority given to developing a North Sea Offshore Grid is on of the 6 key energy infrastructure projects that the Review identifies which will ensure the security of the EU's energy supply.
The strategic objectives that we have already set for Marine Renewable Energy and the development of supergrids shows the central importance of our ambitions for the Green Energy Centre, and the relevance of its work in delivering the EU's ambitious agenda for security of supply.
We have just completed a pre-scoping study on a North Sea Offshore Grid and similar work on a Grid connecting the Irish Sea. We are now ready to move into a full feasibility study with interested partners and I hope you will speak to me or my officials in this evening if you have an interest in this work or indeed in our proposed Alliance on Marine Renewable Energy or our Intelligent Energy proposals.
We will be keeping the UK Government and the Commission's North Sea Grid Co-ordinator fully-appraised of this work and will offer its findings to the Commission when the study is completed.
I am certain this will play a valuable role in delivering this key priority of the Strategic Energy Review
CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE - SCOTLAND'S CONTRIBUTION
But our focus cannot just be on renewable energy. In a world where many of us across the EU have reservations about the role of nuclear energy in meeting our future security of supply and emissions reductions targets, it is essential that the EU moves quickly to develop thermal baseload with carbon capture and storage. Scotland's submission to the UK and to the Commission ahead of the Strategic Energy Review, pointed out the increasing importance that coal will have in meeting our energy baseload requirements - particularly as the EU's domestic gas supplies in the North Sea fall and imports rise.
We are very pleased then, to see the recognition that the Review gives to the future role of coal as a plentiful indigenous energy source when allied to carbon capture & storage.
The Green Energy Centre will have particular expertise in this technology - Scottish companies and Scottish researchers are amongst global leaders in this field.
We already have two Scottish companies that are commercially ready to develop CCS demonstrators at their coal-fired power stations. I hope that those demonstrators can be included in the 12 that the Commission has called for.
Together with our partners in Norwegian companies and universities, we are clear that what we need is a new approach to the North Sea, so that it can be genuinely realised as the EU's principal carbon store - with a potential to store current emissions for several hundred years.
With Scottish Government support, our partners in the Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage have already mapped the Scottish sector of the North Sea - and we know for a fact that there are massive carbon stores in depleted oil reservoirs.
We will be releasing the final results of this study soon, and hope they will make a significant contribution to the EU's ambition to bring forward the 12 CCS demonstrator projects as quickly as possible.
That is why it is vital that the final agreement on the Climate & Energy package contains concrete provision on financing the CCS demonstrators.
We know already from our discussions with the Commission officials that the best outcome would be for several of those demonstrators to be based around the North Sea - and for them to then form an embryonic transportation and storage network that could act as the basis for a future EU-wide network.
That is why we welcome the Commission's Green Paper on Energy Infrastructure and the proposed revisions to the TEN-E guidelines to include CCS.
Given the costs involved, it can only be right that we realise the economies of scale that can come from demonstrators linking together as early as possible to share the costs of developing the transportation and storage infrastructure as well as the individual capture plants.
That is a challenge, but not insurmountable, and I look forward to the discussions that my officials will have with the Commission on this tomorrow, and to working with partners in the UK and around the North Sea to move these important commitments to delivery over the coming few years.
I am confident that the Green Energy Centre will have the skills and capacity necessary to help us all deliver on these important agendas.
CONCLUSION
Colleagues, we have all come a long way together in under two years to stand on the cusp of realising the EU's strategic energy ambitions.
I think we are all agreed that this agenda is the right agenda, and we all know the challenges ahead to deliver it.
The prize is the low carbon, secure, affordable energy supply that we are all seeking.
That prize is attainable, but it wil require a significant shift in how we work together.
Setting aside barriers and institutional agendas that in the past might have kept us apart.
That is the lesson of the EU's history - that truly momentous leaps forward come when we set aside our differences and work for the common good.
Scotland has a long history of constructive engagement in Europe and with our European partners.
We have much to offer
And much to gain
I am glad that there are (so) many of you here tonight from different countries and institutions.
I hope you will join with me in supporting the work of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre
And ensuring that together we realise our vision.