Winter weather brings Scottish wind power boost

Last month (November 2014) was a “big month” for wind power in Scotland, new figures published today.

Analysis by WWF Scotland of data [2] provided by WeatherEnergy found that for the month of November:

• Wind turbines alone generated an estimated 812,890MWh of electricity to the National Grid, enough to meet the electrical needs of 107% of all Scottish households for the whole month – the equivalent of 2.6 million homes.
• Maximum output was on 11 November, when generation was an estimated 55,611MWh, enough to supply 5.34 million homes for the whole day – equivalent to 221% of all Scottish households.
• Minimum output was on 15 November, when generation was an estimated 7,838MWh, enough to supply 753,000 homes – equivalent to 31% of all Scottish households, and:
• Wind generated enough output to supply 100% or more of Scottish homes on 11 out of the 30 days of November.

The figures come as ministers from almost 200 countries gather in Peru for UN climate talks.  Speaking from the climate talks in Lima, where he is an observer, Lang Banks, Director, WWF Scotland, said:

“While Torness nuclear power station had to be shutdown unexpectedly, November turned out to be another big month for wind power in Scotland, with enough pollution-free electricity generated to supply 107% of Scottish households with the electricity they need.

“Even on calmer days, when wind wasn’t at its strongest, wind still supplied the equivalent of almost a third of electricity needs of every home. It’s clear that wind is now a critical and growing part of our current power sector.” 

“I hope that news of November’s renewable output, alongside news that renewables are now the largest source of electricity in Scotland, will help inspire other countries to follow our lead, embrace the clear opportunities clean energy provides and secure progress for global action on climate.”

Scottish Environment Minister Aileen McLeod commented: “Scotland’s renewable energy targets are amongst the most ambitious in the world and we are punching above our weight in the international effort to tackle climate change.

“For example, we generated 46.6% equivalent of Scotland’s gross electricity production from renewables in 2013 and are making excellent progress towards meeting our target of the equivalent of 100%of gross annual electricity demand from renewables by 2020.”

[1] Data provided by WeatherEnergy, part of the European EnergizAIR project.

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