RENEWABLE energy accounted for 90% of all electricity used in Scotland last year, new figures have revealed.
The Scottish Government said more electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2019 than ever before – 30 terrawatt hours (TWh), up from 26.5 TWh in 2018.
With one year to go until a target of 100% gross electricity consumption from renewables, 2019 estimates found 90% came from renewable sources as opposed to 76.2% during the previous year.
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The amount of renewable energy produced is equivalent to the electricity needed to power all Scottish homes for more than three years, or the energy used to charge 6.7 billion phones for a year.
The majority of Scotland’s renewable electricity continues to be converted from wind on land, despite offshore wind increasing production from 1.3 TWh to 3.3 TWh in the last year. This is attributed in part to the Beatrice wind farm off the Caithness coast becoming operational in May.
The Government added that renewable projects, predominantly offshore wind farms in the Moray Firth, are being planned or are under construction – with an estimated additional capacity of 13 GWh.
Gina Hanrahan from WWF Scotland said: "It's great to see more and more of Scotland's electricity demand being met from clean, cheap renewables.
"Whether we meet the 100% target this year or very soon, increased renewable electricity capacity is the most fundamental building block of a zero-carbon society.
"That's why it's great to see onshore wind projects able to compete once again in the electricity market."
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