Nuclear and renewable provide most of Scottish electricity supply
2 Jan 2018
Almost 90% of Scotland’s electricity was produced in the last 12 months by a combination of nuclear power and renewable sources, according to a new report.
Electricity generation and supply figures for the area reveal that nuclear and renewables each accounted for nearly 43% of the overall Scottish electricity supply.
Tom Greatrex, Nuclear Industry Association chief executive, said nuclear power had been a significant part of Scotland’s low carbon generation mix.
“With 86% of Scotland’s energy generation coming from low carbon sources, Scotland’s power mix demonstrates how carbon emissions can be reduced while maintaining a reliable and secure power supply for homes, business and public services,” he said.
The UK will need the full range of low carbon technologies to provide reliable, secure and readily available power
Tom Greatrex, chief executive, Nuclear Industry Association
“This is good news and shows clearly why a balanced mix of energy sources is good for decarbonisation as well as energy security.”
The NIA said that Torness Nuclear Power Station had achieved the highest output of all the UK’s nuclear power stations in 2017 and avoided 3.5 MtCO².
When combined with the emissions avoided by Hunterston site, this achieved the equivalent of taking 2.7 million cars off Scottish roads.
It added that the power generated by existing stations in the UK overall avoids the emissions of 22.7 million tonnes of CO² a year – equal to taking around a third of Britain’s cars off the roads.
Greatrex added: “With two thirds of the UK’s currently dispatchable generation capacity due to retire by 2030, including all but one of the current nuclear fleet, the UK will need the full range of low carbon technologies to provide reliable, secure and readily available power.”
