Energy for the UK (4) : Scotland, "the Saudi Arabia of tidal power"

 Par JJB

Scotland appears to be one of the leading forces of renewable energies in the United Kingdom. As you can see below, the installed capacity for production of renewable energy in Scotland corresponds, in general, to a large part of the UK's overall capacity (even though you might excuse that one chart is from 2009 and one from 2010).

In fact, more than 20% of Scottish electricity consumption comes from renewables. The Scottish goal for 2020 has been modified from 40% to 50% and, recently, even to 80%. Thus, in spite of Scotland‘s considerable oil and coal reserves, it does not rely on fossil fuel - and it seems to be ahead of the EU's 2020 goal of 20% of all energy consumption to come from renewable sources. Yet, electricity is estimated to correspond to only 20% of Scottish energy consumption. Therefore, there is still a need for alternative solutions concerning heating, transports and other non-electric energy consumption.