Renewable energy generation figures rise in Scotland
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Scotland’s energy minister Fergus Ewing has welcomed new figures that show output from renewables in the first quarter of 2012 increased by 45.5 per cent on the same period the year before.
Provisional figures from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that renewable electricity generation in Scotland was 4,590GWh in the first quarter of 2012, up 1,435GWh on the first quarter of 2011.
According to a statement, the provisional figures also show an increase of 9.8 per cent or 435MWin installed renewables electricity capacity in Scotland in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011.
DECC also today issued revised statistics for 2011 that show renewable electricity generation in Scotland was 13,735GWh in 2011, up 44.3 per cent on 2010, and up 97.3 per cent on 2006.
The revised 2011 figures continue to show good progress towards the Scottish government’s 2020 target of the equivalent of 100 per cent of electricity demand coming from renewables.
Assuming gross consumption in 2011 was similar to 2010, that means around 35 per cent of Scotland’s electricity needs came from renewables in 2011, beating the Scottish government’s interim target of 31 per cent.
Energy minister Fergus Ewing said: ‘Projects representing £750m of investment were switched on in 2011, with an investment pipeline of £46bn.
‘Industry figures show 11,000 people are employed in renewables in Scotland already, a figure that is set to grow. And since the turn of the year, we have seen Gamesa invest in Leith creating around 800 new jobs, the Green Investment Bank being headquartered in Edinburgh and Samsung Heavy Industries announcing it will base its £100m European offshore wind project in Methil, creating up to 500 jobs.’
Readers' comments (4)
M. Straub | 28 Jun 2012 4:28 pm
Can anybody come up with anything bad to say about what Scotland is doing?? Of course not... yet whenever anyone suggests promoting more renewables, they are met by a sea of boos, who urge us to continue to use more 'proven' and affordable fossil fuels. Saying the world economies cannot risk 'gambles' on renewable energy.
Scotland proves making strides to energy independence are not gambles, they are the complete opposite. They are safe, successful investments in utilizing local energy sources, and local people, to boost economies, and save money in the long haul.
Fossil fuels will only get more expensive, it's time to follow the Scottish lead worldwide and embrace the materials around us to provide, secure, clean, reliable, and affordable energy into the future.
To see one way coastal countries are doing this today visit The ON Project.
http://www.theonproject.org/otec/?utm_source=engineer&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=mscomment
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nick | 29 Jun 2012 0:04 am
Well said M Straub ! When I clicked on the link for this story I was expecting many derisory comments. Still early days yet !
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Anonymous | 29 Jun 2012 3:22 pm
If anyone can make a success of renewable energy then its the Scots. Loads of wind, loads of waves, loads of tides and a fairly small population to supply all work in their favour so congrats to them for making the most of it.
The criticism against renewable energy is always that the supply is intermittent. I would be interested to see some data for weekly/daily/hourly variations. I genuinely hope it turns out to be favourable for renewables. It would be nice if the wind turbine haters were kept quiet for a change.
I always thought if you had enough wind turbines then you can operate on the theory that "its always windy somewhere"
Also, out of interest, what are the relative proportions of wind/wave/tidal/other?
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Patrick Sudlow | 29 Jun 2012 3:30 pm
I am glad Scotland is ploughing ahead with renewables in opposition with Whitehall's 'business-as-usual' stance. Unfortunately, the outlook for those of us who live in England is bleak.
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