Standard content for Members only

To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.

If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.

Become a member

Start 14 day trial

Login Register

Call for half of all energy in Scotland to come from renewables by 2030

Scotland should aim to generate the equivalent of 50 per cent of its total energy, heat and transport demand from renewables by 2030, according to Scottish Renewables.

Renewable generation would need to triple but the industry body says Scotland is already on track to be half way there by 2020 when the Government’s current targets end.

Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “Achieving this new target will require strategic leadership from the next Scottish Government. The development of a comprehensive and joined-up energy strategy will allow the sector to maintain its competitiveness as well as spearheading the development and deployment of new technologies.

“Not only will these measures support growth in the next chapter of our industry, they will ensure that renewables can play a key role in meeting Scotland’s climate change targets, and maximise the jobs and investment that our sector can bring to Scotland.”

Scottish Renewables called for the target in its new manifesto, ‘Renewed Ambitions: Defining the Future of Renewable Energy in Scotland’, which puts forward a number of recommendations for the next Scottish Government.

They include expanding community and local ownership through the creation of a Scottish Renewable Energy Bond; ensuring that public bodies set a good example by giving them their own targets; and accelerating the uptake of low-carbon vehicles by allowing them to use bus lanes, providing free parking and expanding the provision of charging and re-fuelling points.