New Scottish Government pledges 100% renewable electricity by 2020

The newly elected Scottish Government led by First Minister Alex Salmond has upped the region’s 2020 renewable electricity target from 80% to 100%.

Salmond says that Scotland, which currently has around 7 GW of installed renewables and will exceed its interim target of meeting 31% of electricity demand from renewabes by 2011, can move “faster and further” to become the green energy powerhouse of Europe.

“Because the pace of development has been so rapid, with our 2011 target already exceeded, we can now commit to generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s own electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020,” he told the All-Energy conference in Aberdeen today.

He added that, by 2020, the region will be generating twice as much electricity as it needs – with half from renewables and half from conventional sources. Already signed lease agreements for offshore wind developments in Scottish waters could generate 10 GW of electricity by 2020, while six wave and five tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters could add a further 1.6 GW.

To support effort, he announced a new portal, developed by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise, showcasing the region’s offshore wind potential and a strategic agreement between the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney and the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) in Nova Scotia, Canada.

“This can help unlock as much as £6 billion of investment, highlighted in a technical report published yesterday, to deliver the world’s only commercially-leased wave and tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters,” adds Salmond.

For further information:
www.scotland.gov.uk

19 May 2011

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