Scottish wind power has record-breaking start to the year

Onshore wind farms in Scotland have posted a record-level of electricity generation for the start of the year.

Turbines in the country generated more than 5,300,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity during the first three months of 2018, enough to power around five million households.

The data has been collated by WWF and independent charity WeatherEnergy, and shows the amount of clean power is an astonishing 44 percent increase on the same amount last year.

These figures have been driven by new projects coming online; 2017 saw the completion of major new onshore projects, such as Clyde Extension (172 megawatts) and Bhlaraidh (108MW). By contrast, the largest onshore wind farm in England sits at 68MW.

1st March was the best day of the year so far, when over 110,000 MWh of clean power delivered to the National Grid, enough to power 9,065,020 homes.

The figures closely follow a Scottish Government announcement which showed record amounts of renewable electricity in Scotland during 2017. 68.1 percent of the country’s gross electricity consumption came from renewable sources last year, an increase of 26 percent on the previous year.

Dr Sam Gardner, WWF Scotland’s Acting Director said: “An increase of 44 percent on the record-breaking equivalent period in 2017 is clear evidence the investment made in this technology has paid off for the economy and the environment, putting Scotland at the forefront of the fight against climate change.

“However, if Scotland’s full renewables potential is to be unleashed to power our economy, heat our homes and charge our cars, then the UK Government needs to stop excluding the cheapest forms of power, like onshore wind and solar, from the market.”

Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy said: “It’s great to see renewables continuing to power Scotland, adding to the year on year evidence that greater investment in both renewables and storage is the way forward.”