Scotland is truly a leader in renewable energy. In the first half of 2019 the country’s wind turbines powered an astonishing 9,831,320 megawatt hours.
To put that number into perspective, that is enough electricity to power 4.47 million homes for six months, or almost double the number of homes in Scotland.
“These figures show harnessing Scotland’s plentiful onshore wind potential can provide clean, green electricity for millions of homes across not only Scotland, but England as well,” said Robin Parker, climate and energy policy manager at WWF Scotland.
Scotland has big plans for its renewable energy. The country plans on producing half of the country’s energy from renewables by 2030 and transitioning to an “almost completely” decarbonized energy system by 2050.
So much energy is being produced by wind farms in Scotland that theoretically the country could have enough excess to power a large portion of northern England.
“These are amazing figures, Scotland’s wind energy revolution is clearly continuing to power ahead,” said Parker. “Up and down the country, we are all benefiting from cleaner energy and so is the climate.”
If Scotland can sell this output elsewhere it will reduce other countries dependence on fossil fuels as well. Many countries, such as the United States, do not have the ideal environment for such massive output. Scotlands environment is ideal for wind energy due to natural traits such as its strong wind patterns and ample coastline.
The US currently generates about 7 percent of its electricity from wind. Meanwhile, the UK just recently went over two weeks without using coal at all. Britain plans to phase out the UK’s last coal-fired plants by 2025.
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