Scotland's wind generation jumps in July 2015

Wind power generation in Scotland jumped 58% in July compared to the same month last year, reflecting much windier weather and greater capacity, WWF Scotland said on Tuesday.

"It may have been amongst one of the wettest and windiest months in decades, but July also turned out to be a belter of a month for wind power in Scotland," said WWF Scotland's director Lang Banks.

Wind turbines supplied 660,117 MWh of electricity to the National Grid last month, enough to power 1.75 million homes, or 72% of Scottish households, according to an analysis by the environmental group of data by WeatherEnergy. This means wind power met 36% of Scotland's total electricity consumption, including homes, business and industry for July.

Wind farms produced the most on July 17, enough to supply 3.91 million homes, or 162% of Scottish households. The lowest output was on July 14, when wind power was sufficient to meet the needs of 608,889 homes.

In spite of the cloudy weather, for homes with solar photovoltaic (PV) or hot water panels, there was enough sunshine in July to generate around four fifths of their electricity or hot water needs, according to the announcement.

WWF Scotland also welcomed US President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan unveiled on Monday. Banks said it was "great to see President Obama follow Scotland’s lead and throw his weight behind more renewables in the U.S." He added that the move sent a powerful message globally that more politicians should back green energy.

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