The stormy weather meant ferries were cancelled, trains delayed and certain bridges were closed for safety reasons.
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Due to the disruptive weather in Scotland over the weekend, with winds reaching speeds of 20-30mph, wind turbines were able to harness the additional energy and provide more than 100% of the power Scotland needed for that day.
Environmental group WWF Scotland said an analysis of data by WeatherEnergy shows wind turbines in Scotland generated power equivalent to more than cover the entire country’s electricity needs. This means that renewables fund well over half of Scotland’s electricity needs across the year. However, WeatherEnergy – which collates the wind data for WWF – only began recording wind generation in 2015, so it is possible such an event has happened in previous years, WWF said.
Wind power, which is connected to a distribution network rather than the transmission network, is helping to keep demand for energy from other sources low, Argus Media reported. On the journey to a wholly renewable future, this definitely marks as a great milestone. But fortunately or unfortunately it did help boost the country’s renewable energy production on that day i.e. the 7 of August.
Despite having the largest oil reserves in the European Union – accounting for almost 60 percent of total EU reserves – Scotland has been going all in on renewables over the past few years.
The renewable energy sector has been in a “state of flux” recently due to amendments to green policy and a lack of communication between United Kingdom and Scottish governments with sustainability professionals and experts, threatening the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector. Political support will need to continue if the country wants to reap the benefits of becoming an economy that doesn’t rely on a lot of carbon, according to Banks.
Banks also called for continued support for renewables and for the Scottish government to set a goal of sourcing 50% of all energy from renewables by 2030.
“The Scottish Government is committed to supporting onshore wind, which is one of our most cost effective low-carbon energy technologies”.
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“We remain fully supportive of low-carbon technologies, which offer a huge economic opportunity for Scotland and have a key role to play in our fight against the threat posed by climate change to our society and natural environment”.
