New wind farms have helped drive considerable growth in renewable electricity generation in Scotland, according to figures released by the Scottish Government.
The figures show that 7,358 GWh of renewable electricity was generated from April to June this year, contributing to 18,568 GWh in the first half of 2022 – a 29% increase on the same period in 2021.
This considerable increase is largely a result of new wind farms becoming operational, increasing the renewable electricity capacity in Scotland to 13.3GW in June 2022, up 10.5% from the corresponding month in 2021.
Responding to the announcement, Nick Sharpe, Director of Communications and Strategy at Scottish Renewables, said:
“Scotland has an enormous renewable energy resource: our winds, waves, tides, rainfall and even our longer daylight hours are tremendous assets to the country, and renewable energy technologies enables us to use them to produce direct economic and environmental benefits.
“Renewable electricity generation makes up the vast majority of Scotland’s gross electricity consumption and in the last decade, we have more than tripled our renewable electricity output.
“These figures for the first second quarter of 2022 announced today show Scotland as a renewable energy powerhouse, producing more clean, green electricity than ever before. Scotland’s renewable energy projects are displacing tens of millions of tonnes of carbon every year, employing over 27,000 FTE jobs and generating £5.6 billion of output while bringing enormous socio-economic benefits to communities across the country.
“Industry and government must continue to work together to address the challenges which exist if we are to fully realise our potential, meet net-zero by 2045 and achieve a just energy transition.”
