Renewable Energy now matches 15% of the UK’s power demand and almost half of Scotland’s energy mix is renewable.

According to the statistics released by DECC, Wind accounts for most of the increase. The DECC report says: “Provisional estimates show that carbon dioxide emissions fell between 2012 and 2013; the key factor driving the change was a switch in electricity generation away from fossil fuels”. 

In 2013 electricity from wind power grew 40%, meaning it provides over 50% of renewable energy. Wave and tidal also saw an increase of 75% in power generated in 2013 compared to 2012.

For the last quarter of 2013 the figures are even better with a record for renewable electricity of 18% compared to 13% in Q4 2012. For that quarter onshore wind generation was up 64% compared to the same period in 2012 and offshore wind increased 42%. 

The strong wind energy performance meant that coal’s share of the electricity mix was 7% lower in Q4 2013 compared to a year earlier, with the gas share also falling to the lowest quarterly share of generation for at least fifteen years. 

However, the UK’s import dependency on fossil fuels continued to grow despite the lower production levels needed, with coal imports increasing from Russia and other countries.

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