Scotland’s renewable energy electricity rises 50 pct in first quarter

The overall increase is primarily due to a record quarter of hydro output, 9.2 percent higher than the previous record quarter at the end of 2011, while wind power is also at record levels, 4 percent higher than the previous record quarter.

Scotland’s renewable electricity output rose by 50 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2014, according to new figures published on Thursday.

Scotland generated a record 6,678 Gigawatt Hours of renewable electricity in the first three months of 2014, 10.4 percent higher than the previous record, showed statistics released by British Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said, “the initial figures for 2014 show that renewables generation continues to go from strength to strength, with the figures for the first Quarter of 2014 setting a new record for renewables generation in Scotland.”

“The record high hydro output shows that we are contributing to a balanced mix of energy generation across Scotland which could see hydro power account for up to a quarter of Scotland’s generating capacity in the next decade.” he added.

Renewables met a record-breaking 46.5 percent of gross electricity consumption in 2013 in Scotland, which is on track to meet its interim target of 50 percent by 2015.