Scotland is the windiest country in Europe with around 25% of the continent’s wind resource. By tapping into this potential in an environmentally acceptable manner, we can make a substantial contribution to reducing our dependence on imported fuels, help to combat climate change and create tens of thousands of jobs.
The Scottish, UK and European governments are fully aware of the impacts of climate change and have set the appropriate targets:
- 20% of the European Union’s energy needs to come from renewable sources by 2020
- The UK government has set a target of generating 15% of all the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020
- The Scottish government’s target is to have 100% of the country’s electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020
The installed capacity of onshore wind farms is more than any other renewable energy source in Scotland with built capacity set to triple over the next couple of years. A modern 2.5 MW turbine at a reasonable site will produce 6.5 million units of electricity per annum, enough to meet the annual needs of over 1400 households.