WIND turbines could power every home in Scotland and most of the the north of England as well, according to new figures.
Figures show wind power output hit a record high during the first six months of 2019, enough energy to power twice the number of homes in Scotland.
Data from Weather Energy indicate that the turbines provided enough electricity to power the equivalent of 4.47 million homes for the period January to June.
Robin Parker, WWF Scotland climate and energy policy manager, said: “These are amazing figures – Scotland’s wind energy revolution is clearly continuing to power ahead.
READ MORE: Scotland leads way with green industrial revolution
“Up and down the country, we are all benefitting from cleaner energy and so is the climate. These figures show harnessing Scotland’s plentiful onshore wind potential can provide clean, green electricity for millions of homes across, not only Scotland, but England as well.
“It’s about time the UK Government stepped up and gave Scottish onshore wind a route to market.”
The output would power homes from the Isle of Harris to Harrogate in North Yorkshire, according to WWF.
Alex Wilcox Brooke, weather energy project manager at Severn Wye Energy Agency, said: “These figures really highlight the consistency of wind energy in Scotland and why it now plays a major part in the UK energy market.”
Overall, renewable energy generation hit an all-time record in Scotland last year, at the equivalent of three quarters of gross consumption.
The UK Government measured overall output at 26,708 gigawatt hours (GWh) – a six per cent increase on the previous record set in 2017.
Electricity output at such a level represents the equivalent of powering all households in the country for more than two-and-a-half years.
The upbeat numbers, however, do not tell the whole story. Scottish Power, for example, believes Scotland will have to quadruple renewables output to replace fossil fuels being burned for transport and heating.
Scotland has Europe’s worst record on renewable heat. New figures reveal that, despite an excellent record on clean electricity, the country remains dangerously dependent on climate-changing gas in order to stay warm.
Only 6% of all heating in Scotland is sustainable – just one tenth of the proportion in Sweden, the best performing nation in the EU-28.
READ MORE: Access to Scotland’s electric car network is well worth the charge
Scotland is close to the top of the EU league table for renewable electricity but right at the bottom for renewable heat. Combined with transport, this means an overall rate of renewable energy slightly above average, at around one fifth.
Scotland’s central heating systems are usually gas-fired and a race is on to provide simple solutions to enable householders to replace their current boilers – as and when they are due for an upgrade – with electric ones.
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