THE amount of green power being generated in Scotland has reached a record high with the equivalent of 147,000 homes being powered by environmentally-friendly sources in the first half of this year.
• 13 per cent rise in green power over first half of year
• 35 per cent of Scottish electricity demand met by renewables
• Renewable energy down 20 per cent in second quarter
But there was a surprise fall in renewable power in the second quarter of the year after low rainfall and lighter winds saw a drop in hydro and wind power.
Energy minister Fergus Ewing hailed the figures which showed that Scotland “leads the world” in renewable energy from sources like wind, wave and hydro power.
The first half of 2012 saw a 13 per cent jump in generation over the first half of 2011, previously Scotland’s record year, according to the figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
“These statistics show once again that Scotland leads the world in renewable energy generation, and that our industry goes from strength to strength,” Mr Ewing said today.
“Scotland has hit the natural lottery twice, first with oil and gas and with our green energy resources.
“We have astounding green energy potential and vast natural resources with about a quarter of Europe’s wind and tidal energy and 10 per cent of its wave power. We have a responsibility to make sure our nation seizes this opportunity to create tens of thousands of new jobs and secure billions of pounds of investment in our economy.”
The Scottish Government has the ambitious target of generating the equivalent of 100 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020,
Installed renewable capacity at the end of the second quarter of 2012 was up by 18.6 per cent on the previous year, with 5,453MW installed.
The figures also confirmed that 2011 was a record year for renewable electricity generation in Scotland, and around 35 per cent of Scottish electricity demand was met from renewables, exceeding the target of 31 per cent. Around 14,000GWh of electricity was generated – or enough to power the equivalent of approximately 2.5 million homes for a year.
This means renewable electricity generated enough to power the equivalent of an extra 147,000 homes for a whole year in the first half of 2012 alone, compared to the same period in 2011.
The figures showed that renewable electricity generation in Scotland in quarter two 2012 was 2,498GWh, down 20 per cent on the same period in 2011, though when combined with quarter one the year is on track to be the best ever.
The majority of this decrease is explained by a fall in hydro generation because of low rainfalls in April and May, and also a drop in onshore wind generation, because of lower wind speeds compared to the same period in 2011.
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland welcomed the figures.
“We have repeatedly beaten our renewable electricity goals and are well on track to hit the 100 per cent by 2020 target,” he said.
“Clean, green energy from a whole range of renewables is vital to our move to reduce climate change emissions.”