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I read this article in the Business Insider magazine and thought I'd copy it here as it to me clarifies the population issues around the world and makes an interesting point about renewable energy....
Aggreko's Soames warns on renewables focus
Scotland needs a clearer plan to compete with emerging economies and should rethink its energy policy, according to a networking group of the country’s top business leaders.
The global shift of power to countries including China, India and Brazil and Scotland's renewables-focused energy policy were the key topics of debate at the Finlayson Wagner Black (FWB) 2010 Leadership Dinner at Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel.
Key speaker at the event - attended by around 90 top board directors and other senior executives - was Rupert Soames, chief executive of Aggreko.
He told guests: "In both the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, geo-political eminence flowed from economic supremacy. The direction of the 21st century is already clear - that the iron rule of political power following economic power will remain intact; and that the balance of economic power, and with it political power, will become more diffuse."
Soames pointed out that Europe, North America and Japan account for about 700 million people and were growing around three per cent a year; while India, China and Brazil had a population of around 2.3 billion and were growing at about 10 per cent.
He also repeated his warning to the Scottish Parliament earlier this month that the "lights could go out" over Scotland by 2018 unless new power stations were built in the next two years to replace the capacity of stations that were closing.
He pointed out that gas-fuelled power plants had a capital cost per megawatt delivered to the grid of around £1 million; nuclear was around £3 million; and wind up to £12 million per delivered megawatt.
He asked: "How do we persuade those who have invested huge political capital in a renewables-only policy to adopt a more balanced and realistic approach?"
Aggreko's Soames warns on renewables focus
Scotland needs a clearer plan to compete with emerging economies and should rethink its energy policy, according to a networking group of the country’s top business leaders.
The global shift of power to countries including China, India and Brazil and Scotland's renewables-focused energy policy were the key topics of debate at the Finlayson Wagner Black (FWB) 2010 Leadership Dinner at Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel.
Key speaker at the event - attended by around 90 top board directors and other senior executives - was Rupert Soames, chief executive of Aggreko.
He told guests: "In both the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, geo-political eminence flowed from economic supremacy. The direction of the 21st century is already clear - that the iron rule of political power following economic power will remain intact; and that the balance of economic power, and with it political power, will become more diffuse."
Soames pointed out that Europe, North America and Japan account for about 700 million people and were growing around three per cent a year; while India, China and Brazil had a population of around 2.3 billion and were growing at about 10 per cent.
He also repeated his warning to the Scottish Parliament earlier this month that the "lights could go out" over Scotland by 2018 unless new power stations were built in the next two years to replace the capacity of stations that were closing.
He pointed out that gas-fuelled power plants had a capital cost per megawatt delivered to the grid of around £1 million; nuclear was around £3 million; and wind up to £12 million per delivered megawatt.
He asked: "How do we persuade those who have invested huge political capital in a renewables-only policy to adopt a more balanced and realistic approach?"
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