An analysis by the World Wildlife Federation Scotland (WWFS) found that wind turbines provided enough electricity to supply the electrical needs of 98 percent of Scottish homes in 2014.
In December alone, the turbines provided enough electricity for 164 percent of Scotland’s households, and enough power to supply more than 100 percent of houses on all but six of the 31 days in December.
The WWFS, calling 2014 a “massive year” for wind and solar power in Scotland, also found that for homes fitted with solar panels, “during June and July there was enough sunshine in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness to generate an estimated 100% or more of the electricity of an average home, and 60% or more in the same four cities during March, April, May, August, and September.”
WWFS’s director Lang Banks said that the use of solar and wind power sources helped to “ensure millions of tonnes of climate-wreaking carbon emissions were avoided.”
“With 2015 being a critical year for addressing climate change internationally, it’s vital that Scotland continues to press ahead with plans to harness even greater amounts of clean energy,” said Banks.
Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy, which provided the data analyzed, said:
“At a time when the world is desperately looking for low-carbon sources of energy, the data show that clean renewables are already playing a significant and growing role in Scotland’s, and the rest of the UK’s, overall energy mix. We just need to blow their trumpet a bit more.”
Hopefully that trumpet will blow loud enough that we hear it from across the pond. America should take notice of the success that Scotland has had using renewable energy.
While Scotland is quite a bit smaller than the US, with only a fraction of the population, these results prove that the widespread use of wind and solar power, even in a place that isn’t known for it’s sunshine, is a legitimate option.
