EDINBURGH, Scotland, July 1 (UPI) -- At least 30 percent of all of Scotland's energy demand will be met by renewable resources in 2020, the country's energy minister announced.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing unveiled renewable energy targets for 30 percent renewables overall by 2020. Another 500 megawatts of community- and locally owned renewable energy would be added to the grid by the end of the decade.
Scotland already has plans to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2020.
Ewing's so-called Renewables Routemap outlines pledges to develop ways to exploit renewable energy based on agricultural resources and microgeneration projects. Additional plans envision a green equity fund that would support renewable energy programs at the community level.
Ewing said his ministry's actions aim to bolster the technologies needed to power a 21st century green economy. The renewable energy targets, he said, are some of the most ambitious in the world.
"Scotland has established a global reputation for excellence in innovation in renewables and this routemap acts as a blueprint to capitalize on the economic and social potential of our nation's rich natural resources," he said in a statement.
