Video: The numbers behind Scotland's renewable energy drive

Scotland is on target to hit its 2020 target of powering 100% of the country's electric appetite with renewable energy.

Scotland’s operational renewable energy infrastructure produced 9.5 gigawatts of power in June this year.

Power output could more than double when you take into consideration a number of approved projects still in planning or in the construction phase.

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The largest wind farm in the UK is Scottish Power’s Whitelee wind farm, outside Eaglesham in East Renfrewshire.

Blacklaw Wind Farm near ForthBlacklaw Wind Farm near Forth
Blacklaw Wind Farm near Forth

215 turbines contribute electricity to the 539 MW capacity - almost enough to power 300,000 homes.

Scotland isn’t just focussed on growing their renewable portfolio, but to reducing the country’s carbon footprint too.

The 2020 green targets included an advisory to reduce energy consumption by 12%, but by 2015 it had already been slashed to 15.4%.

The effect of Scotland’s investment in green energy can already be quantified. By 2015, the renewable energy infrastructure had already displaced 13,400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

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