A DOUBLE launch takes place today to highlight the benefits of onshore wind power to Scotland.
Often controversial due to planning rows, the Scottish onshore wind sector is launching a report which celebrates some of the hidden faces of onshore wind.
Both the website and the report – entitled Onshore Wind: Investing in Scotland’s Energy Future – are published at the start of Onshore Wind Week, which will be celebrated across the UK.
The onshore wind sector employs around 8,000 people in Scotland and delivers around a quarter of all electricity generated in the country.
Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: “Both the website and report show the enormous wealth of benefits provided by onshore wind in Scotland – but also the people who make the sector the success that it is.
“It can sometimes be hard for people to see the renewables workforce. Unlike in many industries, the people who work in the new energy sector are often out of sight, but it’s their contributions which are driving clean energy forward.
“Renewables are about more than just energy, and by drawing out their stories alongside new statistics on the low cost, increasing popularity and environmental benefits of onshore wind, both the website and the report paint a picture of an industry which is delivering for Scotland.”
Onshore Wind Week, which is being celebrated from today until Friday June 15, aims to highlight those benefits – as well as the challenges currently faced by onshore wind.
Onshore wind – the cheapest form of new power generation available – is still locked out of the mechanism used by the UK Government to obtain the low-carbon electricity needed to meet the UK’s carbon targets.
Mack added: “This situation flies in the face of the UK Government’s manifesto commitment to reduce energy bills for consumers. Instead of doing that, they are ruling out one of the most popular – and the cheapest – forms of energy generation available.
“We urge the UK Government to recognise the enormous social, economic and environmental benefits of this technology.”
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