Professor John Robertson OBA
From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q1 2025 published today, the above graph showing the enormous and growing renewable electricity generation in Scotland, and:
Scotland’s capacity for electricity generation from renewable sources has increased substantially over the past 10 years and currently stands at 17.7 GW – a 13.9% increase compared to 15.5 GW at the end of the first quarter of 2024. As of the end of March 2025, there are 951 renewable energy projects, with an estimated capacity of 70.7 GW in the planning pipeline. The largest contributor to this potential increase in capacity is battery storage (23.9 GW).
How much electricity does Scotland need?
Final electricity consumption [domestic 8.6 and non-domestic 13] in Scotland also continues to fall, with 21.8 TWh consumed in 2023.
So that 38.4TWh is 42.2% more than we use and the existing battery storage is already 2.1TWh greater than we need if the wind stopped, everywhere.
If we had independence how much is the excess 16.2TWh worth?
The price of 1 MWh fluctuates but typically costs around 139 Euros [https://ember-energy.org/data/european-electricity-prices-and-costs/] so a TWh would cost 139 million Euros. Thus Scotland’s 16.2 TWh surplus in 2023 would be worth 2.2 billion Euros or £1.9 billion.
These of course, are pre Israel/Iran war prices.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
But but but of course we desperately need to embrace nuclear generation just in case England runs out. Also just a guess but I wonder where the UK Goverment will thinking to store the nuclear bombs that come with the new stealth bombers being purchased from the USA…. any bets on Coulport?? after all it surely is logical to have them stored along with all the others and far away from England.
Robbo
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Tearful emoji thing, I can’t bear the thought of Scotland still being ripped off, scammed out of £billions++ by the country next door, heartbreaking.
SNP, Scottish Greens, anything to say? Alba? What’s their take on this…
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Scotland is being assett stripped by a colonial power, just like India, South Africa and many other former colonies.Of that I have no doubt whatsoever.
I have not long returned from a visit to Denmark, where my sister has lived for over 50 years. She told me on that visit that there were various days in any given week that the Electricity is free, other than the supply costs (Standing charges) if the country is producing excess electricity. On those days the Danish Government are selling the excess power to neighbouring countries so charge their own citizens nothing. Last week they had 3 free days and the week before 2 free days, it depends on how much wind and/or sunshine as it’s a mixture of the two. No hydro as Denmark is as flat as a pancake.
Each morning, along with the weather forecast, they announce how much power is being produced and notify people whether it’s free or normal.
To put into perspective, they live in a 4 Apartment flat and pay 35 pounds per month for electricity on average. Including standing charges,VAT etc.
Population of Denmark 5.7 Million. Independent country. Socialist Government.
Population of Scotland 5.6 Million. Colonised and currently being assett stripped by increasingly right wing England who love the wealthy.
Jim.
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And I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA of – (perhaps even conditioned to have no interest in?) – Scotland’s indigeneous energy assets and their potential significance for their own lives and those of their children and grandchildren. Little or no awareness of the scale of value of offshore oil & gas assets in the recent past (and still remaining) – Scotland’s great missed opportunity of a generation – and the developing renewable electricity generation assets, their current and realisable potential value – the about to be great missed opportunity of another generation!
And NO IDEA how they and the young folk in their families would benefit from a Scotland having a government with the agency available to – and considered normal and essential in – independent nation-states like Norway and Denmark.
When it comes to energy, the opportunity costs of our present constitutional status are huge!
When marking the coming on stream of the Moray West offshore wind farm in April 2024 – a site with the capacity to generate (just) 882 MW of electricity – Ian Murray MP, Secretary of State for Scotland said: ‘.. Ocean Winds’ Moray West offshore wind farm – which will power 1.3 million homes – half the homes in Scotland’.
Source: https://www.offshorewindscotland.org.uk/news/2025/april/24/moray-west-becomes-fully-operational/
That’s from just one moderately sized offshore wind farm! amongst many operational and in the pipeline.
On the Western Link electricity transmission cable running from Hunterston to the England/Wales border, National Grid has stated: ‘Operational since 2017, the link supported over 450 jobs during planning and development and has transmitted over 30,000GWh of electricity during its first five years of operation – enough to power all the homes in Wales for the same period.’ Now that is a ‘fact’ that won’t get mainstream media coverage!
There are five additional offshore transmission cables of comparable capacity – Eastern Green Links 1 to 5 – under construction, in development or at the planning stage designed to exploit electricity generated by wind offshore Scotland. Each will have the capacity to transport 2 GW of electricity from Scotland: each will have the capacity to power c.2 million homes. Take Mr Murray’s statement: do the sums!
And whilst these energy transfers may be termed ‘exports’, they have none of the usual economic and fiscal benefits that come to an independent nation-state engaged in exporting something of value e.g. earning foreign currency and gaining the confidence of the International financial markets based on balance of trade factors.
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Murray supports nuclear
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Just to pick up on one point, ” The largest contributor to this potential increase in capacity is battery storage (23.9 GW).” – The generation capacity of battery storage should not be thought of as a generator, rather it is a intermediary making use of excess generation, a la pumped storage.
However, there is a second string to the battery storage bow which gets little attention despite having taken off in England, frequency stabilisation – The response time of these installations is rapid, and will replace the more expensive gas fired installations which had monopolised the role, resulting in lower energy costs.
As battery storage capacity increases, the need to have gas generation warmed up in parallel to variable sources such as wind may no longer be necessary in Scotland, batteries can be the belt and gas the braces – But there is a north/south row looming over pricing to consumers, and if our politicians are smart they’ll capitalise on amplifying the iniquities.
It is England which has a generation shortfall, and will have to rely on gas for the foreseeable future, and probably nuclear in the longer term – The fossil fuel industry are not at all happy seeing their ‘have you over a barrel’ position being eroded, hence trying to flog the ‘net zero too costly’ story to the public, with amplification from the usual suspects, doubtless for a fee.
Interesting times.
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