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Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland

Indicator 12. Energy: consumed

Electricity consumed in TeraWatt hours

Source: Department of Trade and Industry

Note: In Meeting the Needs… energy consumed was measured in GigaWatt hours. We have switched to TeraWatt hours for ease of use. One TeraWatt hour is equal to 1000 GigaWatt hours.

The relevance of the indicator

Delivering a more sustainable economy requires doing more with less. We are doing a great deal to encourage greater energy efficiency. An energy use figure is currently not available at Scotland level, so we are using electricity consumed as a proxy measure.

Choice of indicator

Detailed information on different types of energy consumed in Scotland is not currently available. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are presently investigating the feasibility of producing sub-UK energy consumption estimates by fuel and end user ²⁶.

Detailed definition and source details

The indicator is defined as total energy generated in Scotland adjusted for exports and imports, own use in power stations by generators, and transmission and distribution losses. The data are supplied to DTI by the electricity generating companies and includes autogeneration (generation by those companies whose main business is not the generation of electricity, the electricity being produced mainly for that company's own use). The figure provided in Meeting the Needs… was based on information collected by the Scottish Executive and published in Key Scottish Environment Statistics²⁷. This data excludes autogenerators, who generate a significant proportion of the electricity generated and consumed in Scotland. We have therefore begun to use the more complete data provided by the DTI, who have been able to provide Scottish figures for 2000 and 2001.

Trends

Demand tends to remain fairly consistent over time.

Further disaggregation

The data source does not allow for the further disaggregation of the information held.

Target

No target - but commitment to reduce the amount of non-renewable energy consumed in Scotland.

Action

We provide funding, through the Scottish Energy Efficiency Office ²⁸ (SEEO), for the Energy Saving Trust ²⁹ (EST) whose office in Scotland coordinates a programme of work to improve domestic sector energy efficiency. In 2001 we increased funding for ESTs work in improving energy efficiency in domestic properties by 28%.

We also provide funding through SEEO for the Carbon Trust's activities in Scotland. The Carbon Trust ³⁰ runs programmes aimed at encouraging reductions in business energy consumption and fostering research into low carbon technology.

Highlights of both Trusts' work on improving energy efficiency include:

• The work of Scotland's eight Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACS). In 2001 the centres provided advice to more than 66,000 customers who typically reduced their annual energy bills by more than 26 each. Carbon savings as a result of the advice given to Scottish EEAC clients in 2001 were 6474 tonnes.

• Continued promotion of the Loan Action Scotland scheme, funded separately by the SEEO and managed by the EST. This provides interest-free loans for energy efficiency works to small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Loans totalling 385,000 were made in 2001 which will lead to savings of 330 tonnes carbon/year and financial savings of c120,000/year.

• The Community Energy Programme (CEP) supports development and capital expenditure on district heating systems, which give significant energy savings compared to individual heating systems. It is a UK-wide programme, jointly managed by the Energy Saving Trust and the Carbon Trust and funded through Defra using Capital Modernisation Fund monies. The Scottish Executive has, through the EST, supplied additional resources to promote the CEP in Scotland and to date 1.6million (more than 40% of total funding awarded UK-wide) has been awarded to Scottish schemes. Scottish projects funded to date will produce annual savings of 1,916 tonnes of carbon.

• We have also allocated 250,000 per year to the EST Scottish Project Fund to support research, feasibility and pilot studies that address domestic sector energy efficiency issues important to Scotland. This is being used to fund projects addressing the technical, legal and social barriers to major improvements in energy efficiency in tenements - a major component of the Scottish housing stock.

• The Carbon Trust's Low Carbon Innovation Programme (LCIP), a recently introduced programme, which is aimed at assisting the commercialisation of innovative low carbon technologies. This will contribute to reducing the carbon intensity of the economy and assist British businesses capitalise on the large predicted global demand for such products.

• The Action Energy Programme provided by the Carbon Trust and managed in Scotland by SEEO provides practical assistance to business and public sector organisations to assist them to reduce energy consumption. The most significant part of this programme are Site Energy Audits where businesses and the pubic sector can benefit from a site Energy Efficiency survey and report by a suitably qualified consultant. Recent impact analysis shows that the programme is saving an additional 25,000 tonnes of carbon each year.

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