Strong winds and sunshine help power Scotland as production jumps 20 per cent

Wind power output in Scotland has jumped by almost 20 per cent on same period last year- powering equivalent to 95 per cent of all Scottish households’ electricity needs.

The data suggests that solar power generation could have provided enough electricity for all Scottish households.

Analysis by WWF Scotland of wind and solar data provided by WeatherEnergy found that for the month of May:



  • Wind turbines in Scotland alone provided 863,494.63 MWh of electricity to the National Grid, enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 95% of Scottish households –an almost 20% increase compared to May 2016, when wind energy provided 692,896.1 MWh.
  • Wind generated enough output to supply 100% or more of Scottish homes on eleven out of the 31 days of May.
  • Scotland’s total electricity consumption (i.e. including homes, business and industry) for May was 1,857,566 MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of 46% of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month.


  • For homes fitted with solar PV panels, there was enough sunshine to generate over 100% of the electricity needs of an average household in Aberdeen, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Lerwick.
  • For those homes fitted with solar hot water panels, there was enough sunshine to generate over 90% of an average household’s hot water needs in Aberdeen, Dumfries, Dundee, Lerwick, Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling.
  • The WWF Scottland said that May had proved to be another extraordinary month for renewables across Scotland, proving the energy revolution is happening, whether President Trump backs it or not.



    WWF Scotland’s acting director Dr Sam Gardner said: “Despite the disappointment of last week’s announcement that President Trump is to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement, the global energy revolution is unstoppable and continues at pace here in Scotland.

    “May proved to be another great month for renewables with the wind sector meeting 95 per cent of the electricity needs of Scotland’s households. On one day in particular, May15th, output from turbines generated enough to electricity to power 190% of homes or 99% of Scotland’s total electricity demand. Month after month renewables play a vital role in cutting carbon emissions and powering the Scottish economy.

    “The Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy makes a welcome commitment to build on this progress and tackle our reliance on fossil fuels for heating and transport. We hope the final Strategy sets out the clear steps the government must take to secure this vision and deliver the benefits of the renewable energy revolution.”

    On solar power, Gardner added: “Thanks to a super sunny month, solar was on sizzling form and could have met more than 100% of household electricity demand in towns and cities across Scotland.”



    Karen Robinson of WeatherEnergy said: “Scotland again managed to pump out clean power by the bucket load during May. While people might not be too surprised to learn solar power output was up in May, they might be surprised to discover that wind power output was also pretty impressive. When it comes to renewables in Scotland, it would appear the sun does indeed have his hat on.”


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