Energy counts in Scotland's referendum

Wind and waves belong to Scotland even more than kilts and bagpipes. The country's wild weather may be a bit of turn-off for tourists, but as far as electricity goes, the Scots realized long ago that wind and waves can be an advantage.

A 15 minute car trip away from the city of Glasgow, 215 giant wind turbines rise above the hills of Eaglesham moor. Whitelee is the biggest onshore wind park in the UK - and one of the biggest across Europe. It generates 539 megawatts, enough to power 300,000 houses. At the end of 2013, some 4.5 gigawatts worth of onshore wind power was installed in Scotland.

Treasure off the coast

While offshore wind is also developing at top speed, marine energy, both tidal and wave-generated, are another element in the country's climate-friendly future energy mix. It's regarded as a reliable and predictable addition to wind and solar power.

Equipment that can survive the winds and waves in the rugged waters here could work anywhere in the world, according to the experts at EMEC. The European Marine Energy Centre was set up on Orkney, off the northern Scottish coast, back in 2003. Since then, wave and tidal generation systems have been tried and tested, with a direct grid connection.

Major energy companies from several European countries have become involved in the Pentland Firth, between the Scottish mainland and the Orkney Islands. The tidal flow is counted amongst the strongest in the world.

Developers are convinced that new marine technologies could provide a significant share of Scotland's power in the short term. By 2015, they say marine power could account for up to 10 percent of Europe's energy requirement.

Government bonus for green energy

The Scottish government, based in Edinburgh, has given massive report to the development of renewable energy technology. Premier Alex Salmond, who hopes to lead Scots to independence, is convinced the small country has the resources not only to provide all its own electricity from renewables, but also to export excess energy. Scotland plans to provide 100 percent of its own power from renewables by 2020. It already reached 46.5 percent by the end of 2013.

Developing new generating technologies involves high investment costs. Scotland's rapid progress would not have been possible without massive support from the government. It used a combination of loans, feed-in tariffs and the provision of well-researched development areas off the coast, as incentives to attract interested companies.

From North Sea oil to a renewable future

When it comes to energy, Scotland "won the lottery" according to the Edinburgh government. In the past, the country benefitted from coal and hydropower, and from oil and gas in the North Sea.

Oil plays a major role in the independence debate, as a key source of revenue for an independent Scotland. But Scots are aware that supplies are limited - one reason why the government has put so much effort into using the country's oil and gas expertise to develop offshore wind and marine energy technology.

Scotland is estimated to have a quarter of Europe's wind energy potential, a quarter of the continent's capacity for tidal and 10 percent of Europe's wave energy potential.

Independence - from nuclear energy

In contrast to the British government in London headed by Conservative David Cameron, Salmond's Scottish National Party rejects nuclear energy. At the moment, reactor blocks are still running at Hunterston B near Glasgow und Torness, in the Edinburgh region.

While the London government is investing in new nuclear power stations, the Scottish government decided long ago to opt out of the costs and risks of nuclear technology. Hunterston is to go offline in 2016. Many Scots are also unhappy about the nuclear deterrent and nuclear submarines based at Faslane, in Scotland.

Since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1998 equipped with a limited set of powers devolved from London, the country has taken major steps towards a switch to green energy. But the government would like independence to go further, without being restricted by London.

A recent study indicated that an independent Scotland could offer consumers lower energy prices by increasing the share of renewables and completely opting out of the costs for nuclear energy.

The pro-independence lobby also says Scotland could press ahead faster and more efficiently towards its climate protection targets if all the decisions and funding options were in Scotland's hands.

They are convinced the Edinburgh government needs full independence and responsibility for energy and taxation to carry on its green energy course consistently. The 18th of September will show whether the majority of Scots think the same way.