A NEW record has been broken by wind power in Scotland with output jumping by over a third on the same period last year.
Wind turbines alone supplied the equivalent of 93 per cent of the country’s household electricity.
Analysis by WWF Scotland of wind and solar data provided by WeatherEnergy found that for the month of August, wind turbines provided 846,942 MWh of electricity to the National Grid. This was enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 2.25 million Scottish households, over 33 per cent more than in August 2016.
Wind generated enough output to potentially supply 100 per cent or more of Scottish homes on nine out of the 31 days of August and power nearly 5m households across the UK on one day alone.
Scotland’s total electricity consumption – including homes, business and industry – for August was 1,776,118 MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of almost half at 48 per cent of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month.
“This week the First Minister put the low-carbon economy at the heart of the Programme for Government and these figures show why this is a good decision for the climate and for business,” said WWF Scotland’s acting head of policy Gina Hanrahan. “Renewables are working, creating jobs and investment and cutting carbon and thanks to clear policy ambition we are now a leading global player.
“On August 19 alone, output from turbines generated enough electricity to power nearly 5m homes or 158 per cent of Scotland’s total electricity demand. Month after month renewables are continuing to play a vital role in cutting carbon emissions and powering the Scottish economy.
Hanrahan added: “We’ve made huge strides forward on electricity and now we need to do the same in heating, building efficiency and transport. Last week’s commitment from the Scottish Government to phase out petrol and diesel cars is a major step forward. We now need to build on that commitment in the forthcoming Climate Change Bill and Warm Homes Bill to ensure Scotland is best positioned to develop the global industries of the future.”
Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy said August was another “fantastic” month for renewable electricity.
“With more turbines having come online, this trend looks set to continue,” she said. “Already this year millions of tonnes of damaging carbon emissions have been avoided thanks to investment and forward- thinking policies.”
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