Scotland wind turbines provide enough electricity for an entire day

Sunday marked a significant milestone for Scotland, as wind turbines provided 106% of its entire electricity needs for the day.

On Sunday 7 August, High winds boosted renewable energy output, to provide £106% of Scotland’s electricity needs for a entire day.

This was the first time on record that this has happened, marking a significant milestone for Scotland on the path away from fossil fuels.

Winds reached up to 115mph, at the top of Cairgorm mountain.

Environmental group WWF Scotland said turbines in Scotland provided 39,545 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity to the National Grid on Sunday while the country’s total power consumption for homes, business and industry was 37,202 MWh,

The data was analysed by WeatherEnergy.

Karen Robinson, of the WeatherEnergy project said that electricity demands during weekends was “usually lower than the rest of the week”. People also tend to use less power during the summer.

“Nevertheless, the fact that wind power was able to generate the equivalent of all Scotland¹s electricity needs shows just how far renewables have come.”

A yellow “be aware” weather warning covered much of the country, with towns in the north getting gusts of more than 60mph, which led to a 17,000-tonne oil rig breaking away from a tug in the early hours of Monday morning, later aground near Carloway on the Isle of Lewis.

Travel was disrupted, with bridges closed, ferries cancelled and trains affected.

WWF Scotland Director Lang Banks said: “While Sunday’s weather caused disruption for many people, it also proved to be a good day for wind power output, with wind turbines alone providing the equivalent of all Scotland’s total electricity needs.

“This major moment was made possible thanks in part to many years of political support, which means that across the year now renewables contribute well over half of our electricity needs.

“However, if we want to ensure we reap the many benefits of becoming a low carbon economy, we need to see this political support for renewables continue.”

 

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