Scottish renewable energy heralds ‘extraordinary’ month

Renewables data has shown that Scotland witnessed ‘another extraordinary month’ for renewable energy in May, with wind turbines alone providing enough electricity to supply 95 per cent of Scottish homes.

Electricity generated by wind turbines saw an increase of nearly 20 per cent on May 2017 compared to the same month in 2016, providing 863.5 gigawatts (GW) of electricity to the National Grid. Wind generated enough output to supply 100 per cent or more of Scottish homes on 11 of the 31 days in May.

In total, wind power generated the equivalent of 46 per cent of Scotland's entire electricity needs for the month, with the country’s total electricity consumption 1,857GW.

The data, provided by WeatherEnergy and analysed by WWF Scotland, also found that homes fitted with solar PV panels had enough sunshine to generate more than 100 per cent of the electricity needs of an average household.

Sam Gardner, acting director of WWF Scotland, said: "Despite the disappointment of last week's announcement that President Trump is to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement, the global energy revolution is unstoppable and continues at pace here in Scotland.

"May proved to be another great month for renewables with the wind sector meeting 95 per cent of the electricity needs of Scotland's households. On one day in particular, 15 May, output from turbines generated enough electricity to power 190 per cent of homes or 99 per cent of Scotland's total electricity demand. Month after month, renewables play a vital role in cutting carbon emissions and powering the Scottish economy."