Countries are increasingly managing to meet all of their energy requirements using renewable energy
Hot on the heels of Costa Rica announcing that their state run energy company had managed to provide 100% of the territory’s energy requirements for 113 consecutive days using renewable energy sources last weekend Scotland announced it too was able to provide 106% of its renewable energy requirements.
High winds in Scotland meant that wind power was able to over-provide energy for the first time on record, pumping 39,645 megawatt hours into the National Grid within 24 hours and environmental group WWF Scotland confirmed that Sunday 7 August saw Scotland’s renewable energy source pump over the required 37,202 MWh needed to operate all homes and businesses.
“While it’s not impossible that this has happened in the past, it’s certainly the first time since we began monitoring the data in 2015 that we’ve had all the relevant information to be able to confirm it,” said WWF Scotland Director Lang Banks.
Having said that, last Sunday was not a typical summer’s day though as high winds across Scotland forced bridges to be closed and ferries and trains to be delayed and the Met Office issued a yellow ‘Be aware’ alert as winds reached speeds of 115mph in the Cairngorms and up to 60mph in the north of the country.
“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,” said Banks.
Back in February, WWF Scotland released data showing that January was a bumper month for wind turbines in Scotland; providing 1,125,544 MWh of electricity enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 123% of Scottish 2.98 million households.