High Level Summary of Statistics Trend Last update: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Electricity Generation
Scottish gross electricity consumption equals the electricity generated in Scotland minus exports, plus imports. In 2006 renewables accounted for 16.3% of the gross electricity consumption in Scotland.
Hydro natural flow is rainfall dependent, and since it is the largest source of renewable electricity generation in Scotland, the total renewable energy output each year varies with annual rainfall. In 2000, 9.9% of electricity generated in Scotland was from renewable sources. (Pumped storage is not a renewable source of energy because it uses electricity produced by other means to create a store of hydrological power.) Reduced rainfall in 2003 led to less electricity being generated from renewable sources (7.7%), whilst the wetter weather in 2004 and 2005 produced higher outputs and more renewable energy being generated (11.6% and 13.2% respectively). The 2006 hydro output was affected by lower rainfall, but to a lesser degree. In 2006 13.0% of the total electricity generated was from renewable sources, a slight decrease since 2005, however the actual amount of electricity generated by renewables increased by 7.3% between 2005 and 2006. The amount of electricity generated from non-Hydro renewable sources (wind, wave, solar power and thermal renewables) in Scotland increased from 0.6% in 2000 to 5.1% in 2006.
Source: Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Note (1): Other includes wind, wave, solar power and thermal renewables
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