And finally…a perfect storm

According to WWF Scotland, the milestone was reached on Sunday.

WWF analysis of data provided by WeatherEnergy found that on 7 August wind turbines in Scotland provided 39,545MWh of electricity to the National Grid.

With the nation’s total electricity consumption for the day at 37,202MWh, wind power generated the equivalent of 106 per cent of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the day.

Karen Robinson, of the WeatherEnergy project, which provides information about renewables, said that electricity demand during weekends was “usually lower than the rest of the week”. People also tend to use less power during the summer.

“Nevertheless, the fact that wind power was able to generate the equivalent of all Scotland¹s electricity needs shows just how far renewables have come,” Ms Robinson said.

WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “While Sunday’s weather caused disruption for many people, it also proved to be a good day for wind power output, with wind turbines alone providing the equivalent of all Scotland’s total electricity needs.

“However, if we want this ensure we reap the many benefits of becoming a low carbon economy we need to see this political support for renewables continue.

“We also need the Scottish government’s forthcoming energy strategy to set a goal of securing half of all of our energy, across electricity, heat and transport, from renewables by 2030.”