Scotland – 8% of the population but 48% of the UK’s wind energy and a massive transfer of 6.1 TWh electricity

Image – https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/

From the Guardian today:

UK electricity cleanest ever in 2024, with record 58% from low-carbon sources – UK has more than halved amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels but gas still had largest share at 28% https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/02/uk-electricity-cleanest-ever-in-2024-with-record-58-from-low-carbon-sources

There’s no mention of Scotland’s contribution to this:

Scotland powers nearly half of UK’s wind energy milestone. Scotland’s wind farms are generating 48% of the UK’s 30GW wind power capacity, with new projects pushing this total higher. https://www.energylivenews.com/2024/08/30/scotland-powers-nearly-half-of-uks-wind-energy-milestone/

Net electricity transfers from Scotland to England [in 2023] increased 15 per cent to 6.0 TWh year-on-year, with transfers from Scotland to England increasing by 14 per cent to 6.1 TWh while transfers from England to Scotland decreased to 0.1 TWh. Net transfers from Scotland to Northern Ireland more than doubled to 0.5 TWh compared with Quarter 1 2023, which was mainly transfers from Scotland to Northern Ireland, with only a small amount of electricity transferred from Northern Ireland to Scotland. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a523860808eaf43b50d83d/ET_5.6_JUL_24.xlsx#:~:text=Net%20electricity%20transfers%20from%20Scotland,Scotland%20decreased%20to%200.1%20TWh.

Scotland has 8% of the UK population.

6 thoughts on “Scotland – 8% of the population but 48% of the UK’s wind energy and a massive transfer of 6.1 TWh electricity”

  2. I couldn’t help noticing Matthew Taylor’s “In the past 12 months renewables including wind, solar and biomass from sources such as burning wood pellets and landfill gas generated a record 45% of the country’s power…” and immediately muttering ‘Drax’ – Undoubtedly the biggest environmental accounting con pulled on the British public in recent history, it’s anything but green and hugely expensive to ship the fuel in across the Atlantic

    Conceived in the 1960s as the biggest power station in the UK ( 6% of the UK’s power demand ) it’s only redeeming legacy is the power distribution grid – The Scottish connection ? That’s the destination for those recent subsea HVDC cables running down our east coast….

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  3. A future Reform Led Westminster government,having taken the King’s (Musk’s) shilling,may be inclined to shutdown power generated from non fossil fuel sources.

    The mantra from the lunatics about to be in charge of the USA government is ” drill baby drill” in order to boost profits for themselves and their pals.

    However,can’t see even the Reform lunatics shutting down all the “free” energy they get from Scotland.

    One thing is now for sure.

    Since Scotland is a net exporter of electricity,what is the justification for building nuclear power stations in our country.

    Our colonial Governor seems to have gone quiet on this subject.

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    1. ” Since Scotland is a net exporter of electricity, what is the justification for building nuclear power stations in our country ” – To paraphrase the infamous Nick Robinson, answer came there “none”…

      The reality is far beyond Scotland being a net exporter, but nailing down the exact figures for available power and that commanded off is met by obfuscation – It all comes down to the difference between can be available for export versus what the system can handle, principally that mysterious ‘Grid’ somewhere in deepest England – WM politics deliberately scuppered both direct european exports and north/south grid reinforcement for political reasons, which demonstrates just how shallow London politics became post privatisation – The CEGB would have bitten their arms off to get what Scotland had to offer instead of Drax, but London politics prevailed

      eg There are folks on Orkney awash with electrical power capability (including the tidal array test site) who are still rightly fuming as they have to wait until 2026 for an upgraded interconnect before their production can even begin to make up for lost ground. Meanwhile HMG are going hell for leather to put subsea HVDC cables in down the east coast to erase the environmental stain which is Drax – Rumours that Drax is to be renamed ‘Sunny-Uplandsville in Hindsight’ appear to be entirely unfounded.

      The state of a Secretary over Scotland coming out with ‘when the wind don’t blow and the sun don’t shine’ was rightly met with barely stifled laughter, and he was sent politically homeward to think again….

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  4. Scotland in surplus and nearer the source pays more. No parity.

    Nuclear decommissioning £13Billion a year and increasing.

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  5. Of course the English nationalist Guardian will not mention the contribution from Scotland to carbon free electricity production, but, in the same edition it has a long piece by the baleful Libby Brooks rubbishing Glasgow.

    That is what she’s paid for as “Scotland correspondent.” Nothing about Scotland’s contribution to the UK economy just relentless attacks on Scotland

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