Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 19 on 20/3/2005.

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Future of Scotland is blowing in the wind

Back in 1975, when I was editor of a Scottish business journal, I interviewed Stephen Salter of the department of mechanical engineering at Edinburgh University.

Back in 1975, when I was editor of a Scottish business journal, I interviewed Stephen Salter of the department of mechanical engineering at Edinburgh University.

Professor Salter had recently developed a floating ‘duck’ which converted wave movement into electricity.

The man was a genius and I have always been amazed and disappointed that he failed to attract the recognition he deserved. However, like all great scientists, he persevered, and now, 30 years on, his invention is undergoing trials off Orkney. If successful, and our politicians have the vision to endorse it, a network of wave farms will eventually be installed the length of Scotland’s tidal coastline.

Twenty alone are capable of powering the whole of the city of Edinburgh.

If there is one subject that is going to dominate life in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland for the next decade and beyond, it is renewable energy. Yes, I know it is a world problem, and hopefully high on the agenda for the G8 Summit taking place at Gleneagles Hotel in July, but in the north of Scotland, the debate has already kicked off. If you do not believe me, have a glance at the internet.

There are currently over 1,200 sites dedicated to energy saving in the Western Isles alone.

Renewable energy comes in several forms, the best known being solar, sadly not the most efficient option in the Scottish climate. What I do find surprising, however, is that while nobody seems prepared to endorse a future for nuclear energy or fossil fuel.....

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By Roddy Martine

Section : Roddy Martine's World

Page number : 7