Renewable energy 'can provide all of Scotland's electricity'

Published Date: 15 July 2009
By Joe Quinn

SCOTLAND can meet all of its electricity needs from green energy alone by 2030, a report claimed yesterday.
The country's energy security will not be seriously harmed by the scheduled decommissioning of the Cockenzie and Longannet coal power stations or the Hunterston B nuclear station, said the report.Renewable energy can meet between 60 per cent and 143 per cent of electricity demand by 2030, said the energy analysts' report commissioned by environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth Scotland and WWF Scotland.If Scotland also met official targets for energy saving, ending all fossil fuel generation by 2030 is "feasible", it said. And even a "business as usual" Scotland will not need any new fossil or nuclear capacity.Instead, security of supply can be maintained by investment in grid upgrades and infrastructure such as storage capacity and "interconnectors" for importing and exporting power.Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, said: "Scotland has the best renewable energy potential of any country in Europe and we should be aiming high. This report provides us with a clear description of how to set ourselves on the path to 100 per cent renewable power."The message is clear: Scotland's renewable potential has to be fully realised and that means harnessing the considerable wave and tidal power of our seas and continuing the expansion of both onshore and offshore wind."A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the report vindicated the administration's drive to make Scotland the "green energy powerhouse" of Europe