Scotland’s alternative-energy industry has warned of continuing political headwinds despite new figures revealing that renewables were the single-biggest source of electricity last year.
Hydro-electric schemes, wind turbines and other renewable-energy infrastructure accounted for a record 38% of Scotland’s electricity output in 2014, beating both nuclear at 33% and fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil at a combined 28% for the first time.
Renewables also met a record 49.7% of Scotland’s electricity consumption, up from 44.4% during the previous year.
Scotland remains a net electricity exporter, with 24% of the power generated sent south of the border.
The new data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) puts Scotland within touching distance of its target of meeting the equivalent of half its electricity demand from renewable sources by 2015 and firmly on the road to hitting its 100% target in 2020.
But industry body Scottish Renewables (SR) warned that political pressure could put the brakes on further expansion.
Joss Blamire, senior policy manager at the trade body, said: “While we are now almost half way to our 2020 goal of producing the equivalent of 100% of our electricity from renewables, the second half of the target is going to be much harder to achieve than the first.
“To see further progress, both the UK and Scottish governments must now put renewables at the heart of their energy policy in terms of cutting carbon emissions, reducing bills for consumers and increasing our energy security.”
A report published last month by SR concluded that Scotland would only hit 87% in 2020 without further investment in onshore and offshore wind farms.
Fergus Ewing, Scotland’s energy minister and SNP MSP for Inverness and Nairn, said: “We will continue to harness and bolster Scotland’s renewables potential, both in generation and infrastructure.
“Devolved administrations, like the Scottish Government, will be strong drivers of a progressive climate agenda.
“Today’s figures show that a low-carbon economy is not just a practical way forward, but that green-energy plays a crucial role in the security of Scotland’s energy supply.”
Since winning May’s general-election. the Conservative government at Westminster has slashed support for renewable-energy projects.
Last week, DECC eased some of its planned cuts to the feed-in tariff – paying smaller projects for feeding electricity into the national grid – for wind and solar schemes, but SR warned hydro would now be hit harder.
The latest renewable-energy figures came a day after it was announced the Beauly-Denny overhead powerline was fully operational.
The line – built by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission in the north and ScottishPower Energy Networks in the south – is designed to send electricity produced by renewable-energy schemes in the north to larger centres of population in the central belt.
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