The amount of heat from renewable sources in Scotland has trebled in the last three years.
Figures produced by the energy savings trust show 2,482GWh of useful renewable heat was produced in 2012, compared to 845GWh in 2008-09.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing insisted “good progress” was being made towards meeting the target of 11% of heat from renewable sources by 2020.
Last year’s output accounts for 4.1% of the 2020 target, up from 3.8% in 2011.
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Renewables Heat and Bioenergy seminar in Perth, Mr Ewing said: “The Scottish Government is committed in supporting the development of a commercially viable, diverse renewable heat industry that will deliver benefits to the wider public.
“It is positive to see that in Scotland we are still moving ahead towards our 2020 target however its good practice to consider how we can further improve our plans in order to ensure we stay on course.
“We have also further improved our methodology relating to our renewable heat target, reflecting our increased ambition in this area. Working with our stakeholders we are making good progress and we will continue to examine maximising renewable heat generation, providing an update in the Heat Generation Policy Statement later this year.
“Renewable heat can not only be used to supply individual homes and businesses, but can be used for district heating to supply large quantities of heat at much cheaper rates. In an era of high energy costs, these are important benefits.
“We are working hard to progress with schemes throughout Scotland so we can reap the same benefits as many mainland European countries.”
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