Scotland is an energy exporter

I AM writing to offer some much-needed clarification to the article about Scotland needing electricity from England because of wind farms (News, 4 August).

Sir Donald Miller may wish to know that we currently export more electricity than we import, with more than 26 per cent being sent across the Border to the rest of the UK. Scotland already produces more electricity from renewables than coal or gas and is likely to produce more than nuclear power within the next year.

Significant investment is being made in a varied mix of renewable energy technologies, in energy storage and in grid infrastructure projects 
to maintain a robust energy system in Scotland as we move closer to the 2020 target of generating the equivalent of 100 per cent of our electricity needs from renewable sources.

One of the most important changes to how we import and export electricity is likely to come in the next decade when we move towards an integrated European market. This will mean electricity will be a shared resource across many different countries. For example, Scotland is currently working with Norway to build a massive subsea interconnector to join the two countries’ energy networks.

Sir Donald should also take comfort in the fact that National Grid, which is responsible for balancing supply and demand of electricity on a half-hourly basis every day, has said that having more renewables on the system is both predictable and manageable.

Jenny Hogan, director of policy, Scottish Renewables, Glasgow