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Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland: Progress Report 2004

Indicator 13. Energy: renewable

Percentage electricity generated from renewable sources

Percentage electricity generated from renewable sources

Source: Department of Trade and Industry

The relevance of the indicator

Renewable sources of energy can provide a sustainable means of generating the energy we need. Scotland has huge potential for renewable energy. The Executive has introduced legislation that compels electricity suppliers to increase the amount of electricity that they supply by renewable means.

Detailed definition and source details

The indicator is defined as the share of total electricity generated in Scotland produced from renewable sources. The data are supplied to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) by the electricity generating companies including autogenerators (those companies that consume the electricity that they themselves generate). Hydro pumped storage schemes are not included as renewable sources of electricity because it is non-renewable energy that is used to pump the water. The amount of electricity generated is the total amount before taking account of any transmissions losses or own use of electricity by the electricity generators. Earlier figures used in Meeting the Needs… were collected by the Scottish Executive and excluded autogenerators (see Indicator 12).

Trends

The renewables share tends to fluctuate as hydro (natural flow) is highly dependent on the level of precipitation in the catchment areas. Although still at a low level, the amount of energy generated by wind, wave or solar power increased by 65% between 2001 and 2002.

Further disaggregation

The data source does not allow for the further disaggregation of the information held due to confidentiality constraints.

Target

An obligation on Scottish electricity suppliers to provide 10% of electricity generated from new renewable sources by 2010 is in force. It is envisaged that this will raise renewable electricity production in Scotland to around 18% (including existing large hydro resource).

Following a further consultation on our renewable energy policy, Scottish Ministers announced in March 2003 the adoption of a generation target of 40% from renewables by 2020.

Action

The Renewables Obligation Scotland (ROS) now in force obliges licensed electricity suppliers in Scotland to source increasing amounts of their supplies from renewable sources. Suppliers source certificates (known as ROCs) from renewable generators, which they pass to the industry regulator to prove the extent to which they have complied with their obligation. The level of the obligation for 2002-03 is 3% of electricity supplied, rising to 10.4% for the year 2010-11. The obligation remains in force until 2027.

The Ministerially chaired Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland - or FREDS - held its first meeting in October 2003. FREDS comprises very senior decision makers from across the industrial and academic sectors. Its purpose is to provide strategic leadership, set targets, agree action plans, and to monitor progress. At its first meeting, the Forum agreed that sub-groups will be set up to look at specific areas or sectors. The first sub-group will produce an action plan for the development of wave and tidal energy.

We have also allocated 5 million over three years to the Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) ³⁸, which is jointly managed on our behalf by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to promote community-scale renewables in Scotland. Its two main objectives are to produce zero carbon electricity/energy and to familiarise the public and community organisations with renewable technologies.

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