While Scotland’s renewable energy sector continues to expand at breakneck speed, the numbers behind its wind power revolution are nothing short of staggering. The latest development sees Fairwind securing a massive deal with Vestas for a 44-turbine wind farm, adding to Scotland’s already impressive renewable portfolio. Seriously, this country isn’t messing around with its green ambitions.
With onshore wind already accounting for 62% of Scotland’s installed renewable capacity, this new project will further cement wind energy’s dominance in the nation’s power mix. Scotland currently boasts over 9,756MW of onshore wind capacity as of Q2 2024. That’s a lot of spinning blades.
Scotland’s renewable landscape is dominated by wind power, with nearly 10,000MW of capacity turning Scottish breezes into clean energy.
The timing couldn’t be better. Wind generation reached a whopping 28.8 TWh in 2022, representing 55% of Scotland’s total electricity generation. The sector isn’t just growing—it’s exploding. Last year alone, onshore capacity jumped by 748MW. Not too shabby.
This Fairwind-Vestas partnership aligns perfectly with the Scottish Government’s ambitious target of 20GW of onshore capacity by 2030. The nation has already proven its commitment to renewable electricity by achieving its 50% target by 2015. They’re currently sitting at around 9GW, so there’s work to do. But with deals like this one, they’re on track.
Jobs? You bet. The renewable energy sector already supports over 42,000 Scottish jobs. Each gigawatt of new capacity typically brings about £1 billion in investment and creates thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities. Ka-ching!
The economic impact is substantial. In 2021, Scotland’s renewable energy industry generated over £10.1 billion in output. That’s real money, folks.
Public support remains strong, with 80% of Scots approving of wind farms. Though not everyone’s a fan—planning appeals show a 54% refusal rate for wind turbine proposals since 2007.
With 26.4GW of capacity currently in development across planning or consented projects, Scotland’s wind revolution shows no signs of slowing. This pace aligns with global trends where wind energy surged by 14% in 2022 alone. The country’s remarkable progress is evident in how renewable electricity output has quadrupled since 2007, reaching over 32,000GWh in 2020. This Fairwind-Vestas deal is just another piece in Scotland’s increasingly impressive renewable energy puzzle.
References
- https://www.scottishrenewables.com/our-industry/statistics
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Scotland
- https://spice-spotlight.scot/2023/05/05/economic-and-supply-chain-impacts-of-wind-energy-in-scotland/
- https://electricityinfo.org/news/electricity-supplies-189/
- https://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/news/renewables-8-1-26/
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/wind-turbine-appeal-decisions-statistics/
- https://www.crownestatescotland.com/scotlands-property/offshore-wind/current-projects
