WWF - Strong winds again deliver more than Scotland's entire electricity needs - new data
10 Oct 2017 09:48 AM
Wind turbines generated enough to meet all Scotland’s electricity needs on Monday 2nd October 2017, said environmental groups on Friday 6th October.
WWF Scotland confirmed this was a record for 2017 and continued to call for the forthcoming Climate Change Bill to help secure the benefits of renewables and deliver a net zero economy.
Analysis by WWF of wind power data [1] provided by WeatherEnergy found that for Monday 2 Oct:
- Wind turbines in Scotland provided 86,467MWH of electricity to the National Grid.
- Scotland’s total electricity consumption (i.e. including homes, business and industry) for Monday was 41,866MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of 206% of Scotland’s entire electricity needs on the day.
- Wind generated enough to power 7.116 million homes, that’s nearly three times the number of Scottish households (294%).
WWF Scotland’s Director Sam Gardner said:
“Monday proved to be a great day for renewable electricity output, with wind turbines alone providing enough to power 7 million homes and way more than Scotland’s total electricity needs.
“We’re blown away by these figures but they are part of a pattern of increasingly green power production made possible thanks to many years of political support in Scotland. Across the year, renewables now contribute over half of our electricity needs.”[2]
September was also an impressive month for wind power, providing enough electricity for 126% of Scottish households over the 30 day period, or around two-thirds of total Scottish demand.
- Wind turbines in Scotland alone provided 1,108,862MWh of electricity to the National Grid, enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 3 million Scottish households, that’s around 126%
- Wind generated output was sufficient to potentially supply 100% or more of Scottish homes with their electricity on 18 out of the 30 days of September.
- Scotland’s total electricity consumption (i.e. including homes, business and industry) for September was 1,768,505MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of 63% of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month.
Dr Gardner added:
“Scotland’s renewable sector is thriving but to make sure that we have the most efficient, cheapest system possible, we need more focus on electricity storage, reducing demand and strengthening networks. This is all the more important as the huge strides we’ve made on electricity in Scotland will underpin our transition to clean transport and heat. The forthcoming Climate Change Bill and Warm Homes Bill provide vital opportunities to enshrine ambitious commitments in law and to lead global growth industries.”
Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy said:
“Monday really was extraordinary with wind power able to generate the equivalent of two times all Scotland’s electricity needs. This shows just how far renewables have come.”
Notes To Editors:
[1] Part of a joint project to help the public better understand the nation’s renewable energy resource, the data is provided by WeatherEnergy, part of the European EnergizAIR project, supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme, led by the European Agency for Competiveness and Innovation (EACI).. Severn Wye Energy Agency is the UK partner.
http://www.weatherenergy.co.uk
Wind data for September 2017
|
Production (MWh) |
Equivalent number of households potentially provided |
% of households |
September 2017 |
1,108,862 |
3.042 m |
126% |
September 2016 |
766,115 |
2.102m |
87% |
September 2015 |
563,834 |
1.547m |
64% |
Further technical information can be found here:
http://www.weatherenergy.co.uk/sites/default/files/About%20WeatherEnergy_technical%20%282%29_0.pdf
[2] Renewables generated the equivalent of 54% of Scotland’s electricity consumption in 2016.
http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00521900.pdf
[3] National Grid, WWF and Environmental Defense Fund Europe recently developed innovative new software that forecasts the carbon intensity of electricity generation up to two days ahead, helping people to understand and control their energy use.
http://media.nationalgrid.com/press-releases/uk-press-releases/corporate-news/national-grid-confirms-summer-2017-as-greenest-ever-and-launches-world-s-first-green-energy-forecast/