FP Original: Scottish wind producers see green

Elizabeth Glassanos/FOREIGN POLICY

In perhaps its most ambitious undertaking since James IV launched the Scottish Royal Navy in the early 1500s, Scotland plans to generate 40 percent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2020, more than double its current percentage.

Scotland already leads the United Kingdom in green power, which, despite a lot of Kyoto-related hot air from Tony Blair, only gets 4 percent of its total energy from renewables as a whole. And Scotland will soon boast the largest wind farm in the U.K., when construction finishes on a massive £300m project south of Glasgow.

But there are many hurdles ahead for the wind business in Scotland: complaints from farmers, rural residents, and the tourist industry about sullied vistas, confusing and ever-changing regulatory requirements, long waits for project approvals, and so on.

For now, it's a good time to be a Scottish wind energy entrepreneur.