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Scotland continues to lead the way for renewable energy development with the country’s wind power output storming to a flying start in January, supplying 1,125,544 MWh of electricity to the National Grid. The January figures are consistent with the figures for both 2014 and 2015 which were big years for Scotland, with numerous records broken, particularly in the field of wind energy.
According to analysis provided by WWF Scotland from data provided by WeatherEnergy, Scotland’s wind turbines generated 1,125,544 MWh of electricity during January, this represents enough energy, on average, to meet the electrical needs of 123% of Scottish households. To show how strong Scotland’s performance is in renewable energy, this very impressive figure is actually down 14% compared to January, 2015, when wind energy generated 1,314,479 MWh.
In practical terms, the figures mean that wind energy in Scotland generated enough electricity to supply 100% or more of Scottish households electrical needs on 22 days out of January’s 31.
“2015 proved to be a big year for renewables, and the latest data makes clear that 2016 is already off to a flying start, with wind power alone meeting nearly half of Scotland’s total electricity needs during January,” said Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland.
Mr Banks continued, saying“I have little doubt that 2016 will be another record year for renewables. However, what happens in the longer term will be down to our political leaders. That is why, as we approach the Holyrood elections, we’d like to see each of the political parties commit to ensuring Scotland becomes the EU’s first fully renewable electricity nation by 2030. This is an ambition with real vision that would mean Scotland captures the full benefits of its renewable potential”
Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy also commented on January’s results, noting “2016 has begun very much like 2015 ended, with wind power helping to supply large amounts of electricity to Scotland’s homes and businesses. All this renewable output is helping to avoid carbon emissions, something more important than ever as we begin to see the damaging impacts of climate change.”
