Fuelling independence? Scotland's oil hub embraces green energy

By Elisabeth O'Leary

ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Scotland's leader Nicola Sturgeon launched on Friday a major renewable energy project boasting the world's most powerful wind turbines, which she hopes will also propel the independence ambitions of her nationalist party.

The 11 191-metre-high turbines in the waters of Aberdeen Bay will eventually produce 312 GWh of power a year - enough to power 80,000 households - helping to reduce Scotland's reliance on its oil industry.

"Scotland is a world leader in energy and that is good for our present and our future, whatever that may be," Sturgeon told Reuters, standing on a ferry underneath the churning blades of the new European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), which is run by Swedish utility Vattenfall.

The Scottish National Party she leads, which is seeking to maintain its drive for independence from the United Kingdom, has embraced renewable power as the center of its energy policy.

The party's emphasis on optimistic-looking future oil revenues was seen by many as a key weakness in the failed campaign to win an independence referendum in 2014.

The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) sits off Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain, September 7, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

An SNP strategy published this year removed oil from the party's baseline plans for the economy, describing it instead as a "bonus", while renewables were seen as one of Scotland's economic motors, with food and drink and finance.

At the same time, renewable projects such as EODCW enhance the SNP's appeal to the 61 percent of Scottish voters who think climate change is an urgent concern, according to a survey of households published by the Scottish government this week.

Sturgeon wants 50 percent of all of Scotland's energy to come from renewables by 2030, compared with an EU target of at least 27 percent.

Scotland's energy minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said the renewable power and low carbon sector provided 49,000 jobs in Scotland, compared with 115,000 in oil and gas, but the difference was narrowing.

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