Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland
Indicator 13. Energy: renewable
Percentage electricity generated from renewable sources
Percentage electricity generated from renewable sources
Year | 2000 | 2001 |
Hydro | 9.4% | 7.6% |
Wind | 0.4% | 0.5% |
Other | 0.2% | 0.4% |
Total renewable | 10.0% | 8.6% |
Source: Department of Trade and Industry
The relevance of the indicator
Renewable sources of energy can provide a sustainable means of generating the energy we need. Scotland has huge potential for renewable energy. The Executive has introduced legislation that compels electricity suppliers to increase the amount of electricity that they supply by renewable means.
Detailed definition and source details
The indicator is defined as the share of total electricity generated in Scotland produced from renewable sources. The data are supplied to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) by the electricity generating companies including autogenerators (those companies that consume the electricity that they themselves generate). Hydro pumped storage schemes are not included as renewable sources of electricity because it is non-renewable energy that is used to pump the water. The amount of electricity generated is the total amount before taking account of any transmissions losses or own use of electricity by the electricity generators. Earlier figures used in Meeting the Needs… were collected by the Scottish Executive and excluded autogenerators (see Indicator 12).
Trends
The renewables share tends to fluctuate as hydro (natural flow) is highly dependent on the level of precipitation in the catchment areas.
Further disaggregation
The data source does not allow for the further disaggregation of the information held due to confidentiality constraints.
Target
An obligation on Scottish electricity suppliers to provide 10% of electricity generated from new renewable sources by 2010 is in force. It is envisaged that this will raise renewable electricity production in Scotland to around 18% (including existing large hydro resource).
We are consulting on the way forward for our renewable energy policy, and are seeking views on a generation target of 40% from renewables by 2020.
Action
The Renewables Obligation Scotland (ROS) now in force obliges licensed electricity suppliers in Scotland to source increasing amounts of their supplies from renewable sources. Suppliers will source certificates (known as ROCs) from renewable generators, which they will pass to the industry regulator to prove the extent to which they have complied with their obligation. The level of the obligation for 2002-03 is 3% of electricity supplied. We will shortly be consulting about the issues that will arise from a large increase in renewably generated electricity in Scotland.
We also fund the Scottish Community Renewables Initiative (SCRI) which is a new programme, launched in July 2002, jointly managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to promote community-scale renewables in Scotland. Its two main objectives are to produce zero carbon electricity/energy and to familiarise the public and community organisations with renewable technologies.