u/Historical-Count9051

I've been really interested in energy in Scotland lately and came across a figure I think a lot of people here would find interesting, especially given all the talk about oil and gas and renewables in the last few days.

Tom Johnston was Secretary of State for Scotland during WWII. The guy was a total legend.

Back in the 1940s, the Scottish Highlands were in a bad way. Depopulation and poverty were rampant. In 1945 only half of all homes in the Highlands had mains electricity.

Johnston changed that by launching a campaign to harness Scotland's water and create massive hydro-electric dams.

He pushed through the Hydro-Electric Development (Scotland) Act in 1943 and set up the North of Scotland Hyrdro-Electric baord. Something really interesting about this was that the goal wasn't just to turn a profit, but to serve people in the highlands. Unlike other hydro-electric projects, ordinary consumers would have priority. Surplus energy was sold off to the grid and the profits were used to help offset distribution costs and to rebuild the highlands.

Over 30 years, the hydro board built 78 dams, the Loch Sloy Dam, up by Loch Lomond was one of them. By 1960, they had connected 90% of the Highlands to the grid

At a time when we're constantly worrying about electricity and energy in Scotland, it's nice to find some examples of people who did something interesting that actually helped people!

Was just reading about how Denmark does community energy and it got me thinking about all of the turbines here.

Over there, local towns and co-ops actually own the majority of onshore wind turbines. They get the income and they actually want more turbines because it means more cash for their communities.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, we've got turbines popping up everywhere, but less than 1% are community-owned. The profits are heading straight to overseas investors or big utility companies. I looked up what my town gets in community benefits from the wind farm nearby and it is laughably little.

People are always talking about the transition, but why aren't we seeing this happen on the ground?

Is it a funding issue? Is there a specific legal barrier or planning rule that makes it impossible for communities to compete with big developers? Or are politicians just not pushing for it because it's easier to hand leases to the big guys?

Genuinely curious. Orkney and a few other places seem to manage it, so what's stopping the rest of us?

Edit: Cheers for all the replies – (mostly) useful stuff. A few take aways

-As it turns our wind turbines are expensive! but maybe GB energy has money for this?

-The Scottish government goofed on Scotwind. They could have required public stakes but didn't. They should do next time

-Danes are built different. Cultural and financial differences abound!

A few people asked about organisations working on this

Community Energy Scotland – support groups trying to get projects off the ground.

Our Power – campaign pushing for public stakes in offshore wind

Fuel Poverty Action – local organising around energy justice

Glasgow Community energy - you can become a member. It looks like they do a lot of solar installs.

Edinburgh Solar Coop - you can buy shares from time to time to help them expand.

Hey everyone! A while ago I shared an update here about the Swiss solar-rail project and how it holds up in real life. You guys loved the reality check, so today let’s look at another viral Solarpunk darling from about a year ago: The Dutch Bio-receptive Moss Bricks (spearheaded mostly by TU Delft and the startup Respyre).

The viral videos promised us cities where concrete walls magically turn into self-sustaining, lush green vertical forests using nothing but rainwater.

One year later, the initial internet hype has cleared, and the engineering reality has set in. Here is the actual status of the project:

1. The "Moss doesn't just spawn" bottleneck

In the lab, it looked easy. In the real world, city smog, heavy wind, and intense UV rays mean that moss won't just grow on these bricks naturally from spores in the air.

The fix: They found out they have to pre-grow the moss in indoor climate labs for about 6 weeks before shipping the bricks to construction sites.

The reality: Right now, there is zero industrial supply chain for "living bricks." It adds months of delay to construction logistics.

2. The 3-Month Blanket Problem

You can't just put these pre-grown bricks under the sun immediately. Current field protocols require that once the wall is built, it must be covered with a special light-blocking textile for 3 months. This acts as a shield to help the lab-grown moss acclimatize to the harsh outside world. As you can imagine, contractors aren't thrilled about covering new buildings in giant blankets for a quarter of a year.

3. The Seasonal "Ugly Phase" 🍂

Instagram showed us vibrant, neon-green walls. Reality showed us that during dry summers, the moss goes into a dormant state, turning a patchy, brownish-yellow color. It only looks truly "Solarpunk" during wet autumns and springs.

The Good News: It actually cools!

It’s not all bad. The pilot walls (like the ones in Leiden and university campuses) proved the physics right:

• The walls are 5–7°C cooler than traditional concrete during heatwaves.
• They actually absorb massive amounts of particulate matter (urban dust).
• Structure testing proved that the internal wall stays dry—the moss root-acids do not destroy the core building structure.

Conclusion: Where are we now?

The project did not fail, but it is officially out of its "residential house" phase. It is currently in an extended pilot phase (2025–2028). Instead of apartment buildings, they are shifting focus to urban infrastructure where aesthetics and construction speed matter less: highway sound barriers, retaining walls, and public bus stops.

It’s a classic Solarpunk lesson: turning our cities green is a slow, grueling battle of biochemistry and supply chains, not a 30-second TikTok miracle.

What do you think? Is a 3-month blanketed wall and brown summer moss a fair price to pay for a 6-degree cooler building?

Link: https://parametric-architecture.com/respyres-moss-facades-in-architecture/