Strong winds helped wind turbines produce the equivalent of all of Scotland’s electricity needs last weekend, according to new data.
The figures, provided by analysis firm Weather Energy and analysed by WWF Scotland, showed that last Sunday Scottish wind turbines sent 39,545 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the National Grid.
Total electricity consumption in Scotland on Sunday was 37,202 MWh, meaning that wind power “generated the equivalent of 106 percent of Scotland’s entire electricity needs on the day,” WWF Scotland said.
“While Sunday’s weather caused disruption for many people, it also proved to be a good day for wind power output … This major moment was made possible thanks in part to many years of political support, which means that across the year now renewables contribute well over half of our electricity needs” Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said in a statement.
Banks went on to add that political support for renewables had to continue if Scotland wanted to reap the benefits of being a low carbon economy.
“We also need the Scottish Government’s forthcoming energy strategy to set a goal of securing half of all of our energy, across electricity, heat and transport, from renewables by 2030,” he added.
Scotland is becoming a big player when it comes to wind energy. In May, it strengthened its credentials as a world leader after a £2.6 billion ($3.37 billion) offshore wind farm got the go ahead.
SSE, the FTSE 100 energy company behind the wind farm, forecast it would power 450,000 homes and described the project as “one of the largest private investments ever made in Scottish infrastructure.”
The Beatrice Offshore Windfarm will consist of 84 turbines, provide 588 megawatts (MW) of power and hopefully go online in 2019, SSE said. The project’s owners are SSE, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and SDIC Power.