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This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) 15 MW Reference Wind Turbine (RWT), on floating platforms, deployed in commercial-scale arrays at multiple locations around Scotland in the ScotWind leasing round. Site-specific energy production and vessel operations are provided by a dedicated offshore wind farm operations and maintenance (O&M) model, COMPASS, allowing service operation vessel (SOV) O&M impacts to be assessed with increased confidence. For climate change, the median global warming impact varied from 17.4 to 26.3 gCO2eq/kWh across the four sites within a 95% confidence interval using an uncertainty assessment of both foreground and background data. As is common with other offshore renewable energy systems, materials and manufacture account for 71% to 79% of global warming impact, while O&M comprise between 9% and 16% of the global warming impacts. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) export cables, floating platforms, and composite blades are significant contributors to the environmental impacts of these arrays (by mass and material choice), while the contributions from ballast, vessel transportation emissions, and power-train components are lower. The results suggest that material efficiencies, circularity, and decarbonizing material supply inventories should be a priority for the Scottish floating wind sector, followed by minimizing vessel operations and the decarbonization of vessel propulsion, while avoiding burden shifting to other impact categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To support the electrification of heat and transport, distribution network operators are looking to adopt network management solutions which can exploit local flexibility to advance their decarbonisation efforts in line with the evolving management requirements of the network. This paper develops a multi‐functional battery control strategy that integrates constraint management with carbon‐intensity linked control dispatch – carbon control – to support decarbonisation of rural distribution networks in Scotland by displacing last resort backup diesel generation and facilitating low carbon network balancing in the drive towards self‐sustaining local distribution networks. The interplay between the different functionalities is considered to understand the challenges, and opportunities, of adopting multi‐functional battery storage as an alternative management solution based on an operational distribution network in Scotland. Case studies are presented which consider network constraints at different times of day and year for various generation, demand and carbon intensity profiles to support this investigation. The findings of this work provide for the near‐term, realisation of self‐sustaining carbon‐neutral local distribution networks that are in keeping with both the operational objectives of incumbent network operators, smart local energy systems and also low carbon policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of resilience is now routinely put forward by both policymakers and social activists as a way for communities to use and develop their resources and respond positively to change, including decarbonization to address climate change. The extent to which a community is able to utilize all its resources depends on the extent to which it feels empowered to take action and is a major determinant of its resilience. A narrative of community empowerment has recently emerged from Scottish Government, driven in part by the situation in Scotland, in which a skewed pattern of landownership and distant structure of 'local' democracy combine to disempower communities by disconnecting them from local resources and local representative democracy. Recent Scottish legislation appears to provide new opportunities for community groups to gain control of local assets, become more financially sustainable, undertake climate-related mitigation actions and overcome some of the current local democratic deficit. At the same time, an increasingly well-organized and networked community sector and some within the Scottish Government are actively exploring new ways to enable public participation and deliver public services. This paper analyses the current Scottish policy framework and aspirations for community empowerment and, through interviews with stakeholders, assesses the potential, this may provide for communities to become truly resilient and to actively engage with transformational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is now a consensus that the potential contribution of the humanities to wider environmental debate is significant, although how to develop it effectively is still unclear. This paper therefore focusses on realizing the potential of the environmental humanities through building interdisciplinary collaboration. A four-stage research model is outlined for areas where there is limited humanities scholarship, based on ongoing experience of the humanities in action in the Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Network in the Arts and Humanities, Connecting with a low-carbon Scotland. The model has two key objectives: (1) to enable humanities disciplines to articulate their own contributions to pre-identified environmental research issues; and (2) to develop interdisciplinary humanities collaboration on these issues. It can be adapted to develop understanding in local, national and international contexts, depending on the number of scholars involved and the available resources. The knowledge which emerges can facilitate further interdisciplinary working between the humanities, STEM subjects and social sciences, and be of value to environmental policy-makers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote the transition towards a low carbon economy, the Scottish Government has adopted ambitious energy-related targets, including generating all electricity from renewable sources by 2020. To achieve this, continued investment will be required across a range of sustainable technologies. Hydropower has a long history in Scotland and the present-day operational capacity of ~1.5 GW already makes a substantial contribution to the national energy budget. In addition, there remains potential for ~500 MW of further development, mostly in the form of small to medium size run-of-river schemes. Climate change is expected to lead to an intensification of the global hydrological cycle, leading to changes in both the magnitude and seasonality of river flows. There may also be indirect effects on water flows, such as changing land use, enhanced evapotranspiration rates and an increased demand for irrigation, all of which could affect the water available for energy generation. In this paper we describe Scotland׳s currently installed hydropower capacity and present a review of the scope for future development. We also review the potential impacts of climate change, highlighting possible adaptation measures as well as key factors likely to determine financial viability over the coming decades. We present a summary of the present state of knowledge regarding the resilience of Scotland׳s hydropower resource to a changing climate, and identify key areas where further research is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act requires that public bodies 'act in the way best calculated to deliver [Scotland's] emission reduction targets'. Transport Scotland, the infrastructure management and delivery agency of the Scottish government, commissioned Halcrow to develop a range of carbon dioxide footprinting and assessment tools known as the carbon management system (CMS). This paper presents, as a case study, the results of a recent pilot for the CMS road infrastructure projects tool to provide a transparent mechanism for reporting infrastructure project carbon dioxide emissions at construction stage. Two further case studies demonstrate how the tool informs carbon dioxide analysis and optimisation through design. These investigate the potential carbon benefits of 'crack and seat' processes, the use of long-life pavement material and the need to carefully examine the transport implications of recycled content specifications, if the ultimate requirement is a 'lower carbon' infrastructure solution. The case studies demonstrate the value of the CMS tools in integrating carbon considerations with civil engineering design, construction and reporting processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Modern cement plants have high energy efficiencies and the scope to reduce CO2 emissions by further efficiency improvements is small. One of the few ways of greatly reducing CO2 production from cement production is CO2 capture and storage (CCS). This paper summarises a study which assessed the technologies that could be used for CO2 capture in cement plants, their costs, and barriers to their use. The work covered new-build cement plants with post-combustion and oxy-combustion CO2 capture. The basis of the study was a 5-stage preheater with precalciner dry process cement plant with a cement output of 1 Mt/y located in NE Scotland, UK. Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) and heat and mass balance calculations for both options were developed. The plant costs were estimated and the costs per tonne of CO2 emissions avoided and per tonne of cement product determined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]