According to Energy Secretary Michael Matheson, being an independent nation would offer Scotland the authority and negotiating leverage it needs to reshape the energy industry and contribute to the delivery of a more robust, cost-effective supply. During European Hydrogen Week, the Energy Secretary will visit Brussels to promote Scottish hydrogen production. He will also meet with ministers from Belgium and the Netherlands and influential businesspeople to discuss the North Sea hydrogen infrastructure.
Following the release of the most recent paper in the Building a New Scotland series last week, which outlined plans to increase Scotland’s production of renewable energy sources like hydrogen, onshore and offshore wind, tidal, and wave energy, and placed renewables at the center of a new Scottish economy, the trip will take place. Additionally, it suggests brand-new market frameworks for the creation and application of renewable hydrogen and Carbon Capture Storage (CCS), which are now unavailable due to the guarded nature of energy.
Possibly Scotland’s biggest industrial prospect since oil and gas is hydrogen, according to Mr. Matheson. In addition to potentially heating our homes and buildings, it will be essential in achieving net zero in industrial and heavy transport use as well as in the domestic economy. It also has a substantial export potential. The recently released economic prospectus paper for a Scottish independence outline how we would prioritize renewable energy sources like hydrogen in our economic strategy. “Scotland is an energy-rich nation; independence would allow us the tools and levers to restructure the energy system and ensure a better, more robust supply with lower costs.” The European Hydrogen Week is a wonderful chance to highlight everything Scotland has to offer and to collaborate closely with our European friends and colleagues on the important issues that need to be resolved in order to fully utilize hydrogen as a component of the green energy transition.