ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Environmental issues
Energy photo shots
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
A single wind turbine on moorland – Whitelee Wind Farm, Eaglesham Moor.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Part of the Whitelee Wind Farm opened in 2009 on moorland/forestry land,
Eaglesham Moor. 140 turbines are found here, with more to be erected.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
New wind turbines under construction Eaglesham Moor. Note the height of
the cranes and turbines – 110 m high – compared to the huts for the
construction workers in the background.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
A collection of a few turbines on farmland used for sheep farming, part of the
Whitelee Wind Farm. Landowners/farmers are paid for such use of their
land.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Wind turbines under construction – what impact does this have on the land?
Part of the non-native forestry plantations were cut down. Access roads were
built and the natural blanket bog disturbed.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Two of three wind turbines on farmland adjacent to the M74 motorway,
Lanarkshire. Part of the Blacklaw Wind Farm can be seen on the horizon in
the background.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Small-scale hydro scheme and electricity pylons, Ayrshire.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
One of the small-scale hydro schemes on the River Clyde. This one, operated
by Scottish Power at Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, sits adjacent to a river
dam. The fish ladder at the side of the mini power station accommodates the
Atlantic salmon that migrate up the Clyde to spawn.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Nuclear power station complex known as Hunterston B, Ayrshire, with the
mountains of Arran in the background.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Hunterston B is due to be decommissioned in 2016. Will a new power station
replace it?
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Close to the power station is Hunterston Terminal, a coal-handling port, from
which coal is transferred by rail to fuel the coal-powered Longannet Power
Station at Kincardine.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
A huge coal mountain at Hunterston Terminal.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Longannet Power Station on the Firth of Forth near Kincardine. This is the
largest of three power stations in Scotland still relying on fossil fuels, in this
case coal. The coal once supplied from a local coal mine now comes mainly
from open-cast and imports arriving by road or by rail from Hunterston
Terminal Ayrshire (previous slide). In addition, Longannet burns biomass to
supplement output.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
The power station’s chimney is 183 m (600 feet) high. In 2003 the emissions
were rated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as the biggest
source of pollution in Scotland. From 2009, Longannet will become the site of
innovative technology processing known as carbon capture and storage (CCS)
to reduce its emissions.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
This energy from waste conversion plant is found at Greengairs, one of the
largest landfill sites in Scotland, near Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. The area in
the background is only part of this extensive landfill site. The landfill site
handles between 600 and 750,00 tonnes of waste per year. Between 120 and
130 lorries carry waste to the site each day.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
The conversion plant and landfill site is set in semi-natural grassland that is
unsuitable for agricultural purposes. Opened in 1990, the site is around 500
acres – the size of Alton Towers.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Part of the huge landfill site at Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. The rubbish is
dumped and spread across the grassland. It is contained in plastic cells, which
may have a life span of up to 30 years before becoming decomposed.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
Methane is produced from about 9 months to 15 years of the cell’s life. The
gas is extracted from the sealed cells of rubbish and is used to power the
energy requirements of the site as well as producing additional electricity to
be added to the National Grid. Leachate, another important pollutant, is
collected and treated in large pools before discharge into nearby streams.
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
The landfill site is restored after use to its more natural state.
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
No matter what the energy source, electricity pylons are required to transmit
the energy to homes, businesses and industry. Long considered an unsightly
feature of the landscape, there is general acceptance of their presence and the
arguments against them for the main have transferred to wind turbines!
UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
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ENERGY PHOTO SHOTS
The end
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UNIT 1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (INT 1, MER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009