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Electricity Generation by SourceR: 2000-2004
GigaWatt hours
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|
Other renewables 3 | 306 | 465 | 643 | 834 | 1,308 |
|---|
Hydroelectric (pumped storage) 4 | 613 | 534 | 622 | 670 | 786 |
|---|
Hydroelectric (natural flow) | 4,665 | 3,738 | 4,458 | 2,984 | 4,546 |
|---|
Gas and Oil | 11,283 | 10,898 | 13,210 | 12,059 | 13,265 |
|---|
Coal | 16,624 | 15,408 | 14,826 | 14,554 | 13,054 |
|---|
Nuclear | 16,918 | 18,052 | 15,863 | 18,394 | 18,013 |
|---|
The combustion of fossil fuel, especially coal, is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide is one of a basket of six greenhouse gases that the UK is committed to reduce under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
Figures supplied by companies generating electricity show that 50,972 GWh of electricity was generated in Scotland in 2004. This is some 550 GWh (1%) more than in 2000. The percentage of electricity generated from coal fell from 33% in 2000 to 26% in 2004 while the percentage generated by gas and oil increased from 22% to 26%.
Nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases although its use raises other environmental issues, such as the long-term disposal of spent fuel. In 2004, 35% of the electricity generated in Scotland came from nuclear fuel.
In 2004, 11.5% of the electricity generated in Scotland came from renewable sources ('hydroelectric (natural flow)' and 'other renewables'), with the percentage generated by other renewables increasing from 0.6% in 2000 to 2.6% in 2004. As part of the Climate Change Programme, the Scottish Executive has set a target that 18% of electricity generated in Scotland by 2010 should be from renewable sources, rising to 40% by 2020.
SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
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