Scotland delivering 48% of UK’s historic 30GW wind power milestone

The UK has today (August 29) hit a historic milestone of 30GW of wind power capacity with Scotland’s offshore and onshore wind farms contributing 48% of this total.

Operational capacity of 30GW is enough to power over 26 million homes and cut carbon emissions by more than 35 million tonnes a year.

Onshore wind farms across Scotland, from the Borders to the Highlands and Islands, are currently delivering 9.5GW of operational capacity which is set to double with the Scottish Government setting a deployment target of 20GW by 2030.

While offshore wind farms dotted along the country’s coastline have the capability to produce 5GW of clean power at present, the Scottish Government has set a 11GW target of offshore wind deployment by 2030. With considerably more than that already under development, this capacity will only continue to increase.

It is SSE Renewables’ Viking Wind Farm on the Shetland Islands, opened today, that has added 443MW of capacity taking the total past the 30GW threshold.

Consisting of 103 turbines, Viking will harness Shetland’s exceptionally strong wind resource and will deliver renewable energy to the electricity network via a 260km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea cable.

Morag Watson, Director of Onshore at Scottish Renewables, said:

“As wind power continues to shape our future energy system, reaching 30GW of onshore and offshore wind capacity is a significant achievement for the UK.

“Wind power is one of Scotland’s greatest environmental and economic success stories, from the first-ever wind turbine built in Aberdeenshire in 1887 to an industry which now delivers 27,000 jobs and more than £7 billion to our economy while helping combat climate change.

“With 48% of the UK’s operational capacity here in Scotland it is quite fitting that it is the Viking wind farm, a Scottish project, that takes us past the 30GW milestone. It is clear to see that Scotland’s wind power industry continues to be at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy future and will continue to play a central role as we look to achieve net-zero.”

Ends

Notes:

• Total operational capacity of combined onshore and offshore wind in the UK now stands at 30,299MW, as tracked by RenewableUK’s EnergyPulse.

• For more on the opening of Viking wind farm visit SSE Renewables website.