Latest news with #PoweringtheFuture
Scotsman
05-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
‘A day marked by reflection, bold ambition, and a shared sense of purpose'
Thomas McCormack, head of investment planning at SSEN Transmission | Trevor Martin COMMENT: Thomas McCormack, head of investment planning at headline sponsor SSEN Transmission, on his organisation's efforts to scale-up renewables and strengthen the grid Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I attended the Highlands & Islands Green Energy Conference in Inverness as a panellist for the session Powering the Future: Scaling Up Renewables and Strengthening the Grid. The event provided a great platform to share insights into our system's legacy, celebrate recent milestones, and discuss our future plans as we deliver a network for net-zero. As the custodian of our business's power systems analysis capabilities, I was immediately put at ease by the panel chair's opening remark about 'embracing the unashamedly nerdy.' While I suspect this was aimed at the policy and reform discussions ahead, I took it as full permission to dive deep into system planning references. It was a day marked by reflection, bold ambition, and a shared sense of purpose as we collectively navigate the complexities of the energy transition. One message stood out clearly –the Highlands and Islands are not merely a backdrop for green energy, they are central to its success. For SSEN Transmission, this is evident in the scale of investment already delivered in the region, including the Caithness-Moray-Shetland HVDC link. Looking ahead, major projects such as the Spittal–Peterhead HVDC and the onshore 400kV reinforcements are progressing as part of our Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) plan. Christianna Logan, SSEN Transmission's director of customers and stakeholders, joined the morning panel discussion Progress & Achievements in Green Energy in the Highlands. She highlighted SSEN Transmission's recent milestones in the region, including the energisation of the Shetland Link, enabling the connection of the high-yielding Viking Wind Farm. Christianna also spoke about our new strategic spares warehouse at Dalcross, and the deployment of innovative technologies such as mobile substations and dynamic line rating. We also heard from Sumitomo on their investments at Nigg and their commitment to local supply chains, the Scottish National Investment Bank on the tension between ambition and certainty, the Highland Council on their social value charter and planning consents, and from Highlands and Islands Enterprise on the scale of opportunity. During my panel, I shared how, as power systems engineers, we routinely engage with the legacy of past decisions, working with network models that include assets dating back more than half a century. On these foundations, we layer investment plans that shape the grid of the future. This is not simply a suite of individual projects; it is the ongoing engineering of a power system that must be both technically robust and strategically transformative. Our work bridges generations of infrastructure, ensuring we develop a system that is deeply integrated with policy, people and place. The scale and ambition for renewable energy in the region is now visible to all. When overlaid with SSEN Transmission's ambitious investment plans to further strengthen the grid, it's clear that the Highlands and Islands are exceptionally well positioned to play a leading role in helping the country meet its clean power targets. Connections reform is often central to any discussion around grid capacity, and it was no exception during my panel session. The legacy 'first-come, first-served' approach has led to the 'contractual' sterilisation of both current and future system capacity, locking up grid access. Too often, this is interpreted as the system being at full capacity, implying that no renewable growth can be accommodated. But this blanket interpretation overlooks important system specific context and technical nuance. We're optimistic that the implementation of connections reform and queue management will shift the model to a 'First Ready and Needed, First Connected' approach. This will not only increase the effective utilisation of the system but also provide clearer signals for targeted regional investment. I communicated that we are now entering the implementation phase of Connections Reform and preparing to re-assess and re-issue connection offers in line with the newly formed National Energy System Operator's queues structured around the protections, project readiness, and strategic alignment criteria. The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan will also play a pivotal role in identifying and co-ordinating system need. We continue to work closely with the operator as we refine our insights and energy system modelling to inform our 2035 regional network plans. As I left Inverness, I felt a heightened awareness of just how interconnected our work across technologies, geographies, and communities has become with an increased sense of urgency and importance of cumulative decisions.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Glasgow universities launch hospitality staff survey on work conditions
A new survey from two Glasgow universities is asking hospitality staff in Scotland about their working conditions post-pandemic. The 2025 Scottish Hospitality Employee Survey, launched by researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Strathclyde, hopes to uncover the everyday challenges of frontline workers in the sector. New climate tech programme 'Powering the Future' launched in Glasgow Staff working in hotels, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets, and caterers will be questioned on wages, job security, line management, harassment, and abuse. To be eligible for the survey, staff have to be in employment or have previously worked in hospitality in Scotland over the last two years. It can be accessed online at The survey is part of an international project between members of the Global Hospitality Research Alliance (GHRA), designed to investigate experiences of hospitality employment in a range of countries, including Scotland, Ireland, England, Greece, Norway, and New Zealand. Dr Victoria Walker, lecturer in human resource management at Glasgow Caledonian, said: "This collaboration between leading researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Strathclyde will ensure that the voices of Scotland's hospitality workers are both heard and advocated for, in the pursuit of fair and decent work." Glasgow Gaelic projects to receive more than £40,000 in funding Dr Walker is working with her Glasgow Caledonian colleagues Tayler Cunningham and Brian Finlay on the project. It is being carried out in partnership with Strathclyde Business School's Department of Work, Employment and Society. Brian Finlay, lecturer in the Department for People and Organisations, added: "It's very exciting to be part of this new partnership. "As a collective, we want to understand the realities facing workers in the hospitality sector post-pandemic."
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Yingli Solar's Global Product Workshop Successfully Held in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently Yingli Solar kicked off its second Global Product Workshop under the theme "Powering the Future" in Islamabad, Pakistan. The event brought together over two hundreds of local PV investors, corporate representatives and end-users to share their insights on key topics such as local market trends and technological innovation. Heated discussions inspired new ideas and strategic directions for the high-quality development of the PV industry in Pakistan. At the opening of the workshop, Allen Geng, Yingli Solar's Managing Director of International Sales, extended a warm welcome and expressed heartfelt gratitude to all attendees. Mr. Geng highlighted Pakistan's abundant solar energy resources and noted that the country's high-temperature and arid climate impose stringent requirements on the quality of PV modules. And that's where Yingli Solar can help. Having been present in Pakistan since 2014, Yingli Solar has successfully applied its offerings in a variety of landmark projects across the country, including the rooftop PV power plant at Pakistan's Parliament House Building. Over the years, Yingli Solar has never ceased to innovate its products and services to better adapt to the Pakistani market and environmental conditions. Looking ahead, Yingli Solar remains poised to collaborate with global partners to explore new possibilities and accelerate Pakistan's green and low-carbon energy transition by sharing its expertise and experience. Saad Ahmed, Yingli Solar's Director of International Sales in Pakistan, delivered a keynote speech, highlighting the company's product superiority, service strengths, brand value, and tailored cooperation policies. He emphasized that the company's products have been widely applied across various scenarios, including expressways, urban buildings, university campuses, and textile mills, which all demonstrate exceptional power generation performance. In addition, Yingli Solar also empowers customers with its unique service system, rapid and precise responses, and localization strategies. Moving forward, Yingli Solar will continue to provide technical training and personalized services through its "Panda Partner" program, fostering mutual success with customers. In 2024, Pakistan emerged as one of the top ten global PV markets, experiencing rapid growth driven by strong support from the Pakistani government and industry associations. Many of Yingli Solar's partner PV companies have also seen favorable growth. During the event, distributors and users who received the "2024 Best Partner Award" shared their success stories, highlighting how their collaboration with Yingli Solar has been a cornerstone of their significant achievements in the PV business. "Powering the Future", a global brand and technology tour, launched by Yingli Solar at the end of 2024, is aimed at sharing advancements in PV technology and enhancing the global reach and influence of innovative products and brands. Radiating from Asia, the tour has already left its mark in Malaysia and Pakistan. It will extend to countries along the "Belt and Road" route, enabling high-quality renewable energy development in more countries and making a significant contribution to global carbon neutrality efforts. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Yingli Solar
