Aquatera, along with Community Energy Scotland (CES) and EMEC: European Marine Energy Centre, have conducted a series of workshops to gather information on energy generation and demand forecasting towards 2045 across Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles.
The workshops were completed as part of The Islands Centre for Net Zero’s (ICNZ) work with SSEN Transmission to inform future energy system planning in Scotland’s islands. SSEN are working with ICNZ to better understand the local energy environment.
The workshop constituted part of the ICNZ’s efforts to:
- Forecast energy demand by sector and location to 2045
- Project the different generation developments that might be seen under varying decarbonisation scenarios
- Ensure place-based planning that reflects the unique context of our islands
- Give adaptable and situated insights for future investment and design
The workshops gave opportunity for ICNZ partners and SSEN to discuss pathways to decarbonisation, including e-fuels and energy storage, as well as the challenges we must overcome in ensuring just transition of the different industries in our islands.
Ian Johnstone, Director of Aquatera: “The work being completed by ICNZ partners will feed into SSEN’s future system planning and ensure that the islands’ needs and aspirations are taken into account when grid infrastructure is being developed.”
