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Scotland just produced enough wind energy to power all its households twice over!
Between January and June 2019, Scottish wind generated enough electricity to power the equivalent of 4.47 million homes for six months. That’s almost double the number of homes in Scotland!
Wind power generation in Scotland had a strong first half of 2019
Wind turbines in Scotland generated 9,831,320 megawatt hours between January and June 2019, WWF Scotland said Monday. The figures, supplied by WeatherEnergy, mean that Scottish wind generated enough electricity to power the equivalent of 4.47 million homes for six months. That’s almost double the total number of homes in Scotland, according to WWF Scotland.
“Up and down the country, we are all benefiting from cleaner energy and so is the climate,” Robin Parker, climate and energy policy manager at WWF Scotland, said in a statement Monday.
“These figures show harnessing Scotland’s plentiful onshore wind potential can provide clean, green electricity for millions of homes across not only Scotland, but England as well,” Parker added.
Source: CNBC
![Wind turbines in Scotland generated 9,831,320 megawatt hours between January and June 2019, WWF Scotland said Monday.](https://www.brightvibes.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/phpV9xKzN.jpeg)
Scotland to produce half the country’s energy consumption from renewables by 2030, say government
By 2030, the Scottish government says it wants to produce half of the country’s energy consumption from renewables. It is also targeting an “almost completely” decarbonised energy system by 2050.
As a whole, Europe is home to some of the world’s most ambitious wind energy projects. September 2018 saw the official opening of the Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm in the Irish Sea.
With a total capacity of 659 MW, it’s currently the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm and capable of powering nearly 600,000 homes in the U.K., according to Danish energy business Orsted.
Source: CNBC
![As you can see in the chart above, the cost of wind energy has decreased significantly in the past 35 years from more than 60 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 1980 to about 7 cents/kWh today, unsubsidised. Naturally, as wind energy has become less expensive, it has become an increasingly popular renewable energy option.](https://www.brightvibes.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/phpe7X9b5.jpeg)
Wind has great future potential
Wind still has massive untapped potential, as shown in a recent Energy Department report titled Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States, which outlines how wind energy could generate 20% of the nation’s electricity by 2030 and 35% by 2050.
Industry observers expect technological advancements to continue to drive down costs in the future. In fact, a recent survey of wind experts indicated that wind energy costs could fall another 35% by 2050.
With continuous technological innovation, transmission expansion, and continued federal and state support, wind can continue to grow and unlock its wide array of benefits in all 50 states. The report is here: Revolution…Now
We heard of this vibe-brightening story via our friends at FutureCrunch
Source: Windpowerengineering.com
![In 2018, 68.1% of Scotland’s electricity came from renewables and 74% of that is from wind. Wind power in Scotland, thanks to its fairly awful weather, is cheap to produce and extremely reliable.](https://www.brightvibes.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/phpb6lwWa.jpeg)