THE Scottish Government insisted “outstanding” new figures for wind power output shows the strength of Scotland’s renewable energy sector and repeated calls for its progress not to be put at risk by the “reckless” actions of the Tories.
Figures published by WWF Scotland for June 2015 show that output from wind energy alone in Scotland increased by 120 per cent based on figures from the previous year – supplying enough energy for 70 per cent of Scottish households and 33 per cent of the country’s entire electricity needs for the month.
SNP MSP Mike MacKenzie has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament condemning the UK Government’s cut to the subsidy for onshore wind energy paid through the Renewables Obligation which has now achieved cross-party support.
MacKenzie said: “These outstanding new figures are a welcome demonstration of the strength of Scotland’s renewables industry, with a 120 per cent boost on the previous year’s figure showing the incredible strides Scotland is making in producing clean, sustainable energy and showing the vital role green energy can play in meeting our energy needs.
“This is exactly why the UK Government’s decision to cut onshore wind subsidies funded through the Renewables Obligation is so dangerous, which could see a loss of investment of up to £3 billion, put more than 5,000 jobs at risk and put at risk the excellent progress Scotland has made on renewables in recent years.
“The new figures show that Scotland has a real opportunity to be a world leader on renewable energy and this excellent progress must not be put at risk by the reckless approach of a Tory Government with scant regard for Scotland’s interests.”
Environmental group WWF Scotland said June turned out to be an “astonishing” month for wind power output with turbines providing 620,144MWh of electricity to the National Grid, an increase of 120 per cent compared to last June when wind energy provided 281,735MWh. Scotland’s total electricity consumption including homes, business and industry for June was 1,891,536MWh.
Wind power generated the equivalent of 33 per cent of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month.
For homes fitted with solar PV panels, there was enough sunshine to generate an estimated 109 per cent of the electricity needs of an average household in Aberdeen, 105 per cent in Edinburgh, 98 per cent in Inverness, and 89 per cent in Glasgow.
For those homes fitted with solar hot water panels, there was enough sunshine to generate 99 per cent of an average household’s hot water needs in Aberdeen, 94 per cent in Edinburgh, 90 per cent in Inverness, and 87 per cent in Glasgow.
WWF Scotland’s director Lang Banks said:“While much of the attention may have been focused on the welcome summer sunshine, June also turned out to be an astonishing month for wind power in Scotland.
“Thanks to a combination of increased capacity and stronger winds, output from turbines more than doubled compared to the same period last year – supplying power equivalent to the electrical needs of 1.7 million homes.
“These figures show just how much wind power has gone from strength to strength, however, wind power in Scotland could and should be playing an even bigger role in helping to reducing climate emissions from the power sector.
“During June, for tens of thousands of homes that have installed solar panels to generate electricity or heat water, over four fifths of their electricity or hot water needs could have been met by the sun, helping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.”
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