Home » Scotland’s wind power records
Scotland set two new wind power records at the end of December, according to new data released by WWF Scotland.
‘Later this month, the Scottish Government is expected to publish its new energy strategy. We hope these latest wind power records embolden ministers to aim high when it comes to the role renewables play in their forthcoming strategy especially in areas beyond the power sector, such as heat and transport.’
LANG BANKS
WWF Scotland’s director
Analysis by the environmental group of data provided by WeatherEnergy found that wind turbines in Scotland generated power equivalent to all of the nation’s electricity needs for a record four straight days – on 23, 24, 25 and 26 December.
Although wind turbines have previously generated more power than needed in a single day in Scotland, this is the first time that such a feat has been recorded on consecutive days.
The same four-day period also saw a new record set for the most amount of wind-generated power in a single day – on Christmas Eve – with 74,042MWh of electricity sent to the National Grid.
As total electricity demand on Christmas Eve was 56,089MWh it meant that wind turbines generated the equivalent of 132% of Scotland’s total electricity needs that day.
However, the proportion of Scotland’s total power needs that could have been met by wind on Christmas Day was even greater – equivalent to 153% of total electricity demand.
This was because although output from wind turbines on Christmas Day was slightly less than the amount generated on Christmas Eve (70,002Mh), total electricity demand was also much lower (45,756MWh).
‘These are two spectacular achievements, which underline the massive progress Scotland is making in securing an ever increasing proportion of its electricity needs from wind power and other clean renewable sources. Scotland can be proud that its record-breaking wind power output at the end of December, and resulting export of excess electricity through interconnectors to England, greatly contributed to what also proved a record-breaking week for wind power across the entire UK.’
LANG BANKS
WWF Scotland’s director
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