Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
The data also highlights that December was a record breaking month for the industry as wind turbines generated enough power to supply over 100 per cent of Scottish households on 25 out of the 31 days in the month.
The findings are very encouraging for the future and well worth consideration as our country looks at all the options available for best harvesting our energy in the future.
The Scottish Government is committed to investing in renewables and it is fantastic to see that this is making such a difference. Not only will this bolster our energy supply for future generations, but this will also help keep energy bills down – a welcome result for everyone at this time of year.
We hope that as this industry develops over time, buoyed and spurred on by statistics like these, more jobs and investment will be created and our carbon emissions will be significantly reduced.
However, good results are never an excuse to be complacent. Ideally the full powers of energy policy would be transferred to Scotland from Westminster, and the SNP will continue to fight for this so that the energy industry in our country meets our needs in the best possible way.
Breaking the renewable figures down even further with the help of WWF, the maximum output of wind turbines was on December 10, when generation was an estimated 65,970MWh – enough to supply 6.34 million homes for the whole day – which is the equivalent of 262 per cent of all Scottish households.
Wind generated enough power to supply over 100 per cent of Scottish households during six out of the 12 months – January, February, March, October, November, and December.
In 2014 as a whole, on average, wind power generated enough to supply the electrical needs of 98 per cent of Scottish households, with six months where the amount was greater than 100 per cent. And, in the tens of thousands of Scottish households that have installed solar panels, this met two-thirds or more of their electricity or hot water needs from the sun during several months of the year, helping those homes reduce their reliance on coal, gas, or oil.
Without wanting to overdose on figures, it’s vital to note that these results signal that millions of tonnes of climate-wreaking carbon emissions were avoided over the course of 2014. It is so important that Scotland continues to steam ahead this year with plans to create even greater amounts of clean energy.
Scotland is leading the way on wind power within the UK and in Europe, and is generating excellent results on sun-loving renewables also. The data has shown that there is plenty of sunshine to meet a large proportion of an average family’s electricity needs for most months of the year.
2015 looks set to be a year when Scotland will once again punch above its weight – let’s do everything we can to get results that will make every new year one that is marked by cleaner energy, and better for the people of Scotland.
