WIND turbines in Scotland generated the equivalent of 98% of the country’s electricity demand last month, enough to power nearly five million homes, according to new analysis.
WWF Scotland said that National Grid demand for the month was 1,850,512 MWh and that almost all of this could have been provided by wind turbines, which provided record levels of power.
The best day was October 23, when turbines generated 105,900.94 MWh.
That level of power is sufficient to provide energy to 8.72 million homes or 356% of households.
Demand that day was 45,274.5MWh and wind generation was 234% of that.
The WWF Scotland figures were calculated through an analysis of data from WeatherEnergy.
Dr Sam Gardner, acting director at WWF Scotland, said: “What a month October proved to be, with wind powering on average 98% of Scotland’s entire electricity demand for the month, and exceeding our total demand for a staggering 16 out of 31 days.
“These figures clearly show wind is working, it’s helping to reduce our emissions and is the lowest cost form of new power generation.
“It’s also popular, with a recent survey also showing more and more people support turbines in rural areas.
He added: “That is why it is essential that the UK Government unlocks market access for onshore wind at a time when we need to be scaling up electrification of heat and transport.”
The worst day for generation was October 18, when 18,377.71MWh was produced.
Around1,512,568 homes or 62% of households, could be provided with energy with that level of power generation.
Demand that day was 73,628.5MWh – wind generation was 25% of that.
On 27 days generation was more than100% of households while on 16 days generation was more than 100% of demand.
The majority of the turbines were onshore, with offshore ones accounting for 0.3% of output in October.
Alex Wilcox Brooke, the weather energy project manager for the Severn Wye Energy Agency, commented: “October’s figures
are a prime example of how
reliable and consistent wind production can be, with production on 16 days outstripping national demand.”
WeatherEnergy, which recorded the data used for the study of Scotland’s energy production, is part of the European EnergizAIR project. It is supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme and led by the European Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation.
Severn Wye Energy Agency is the UK partner.
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