EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 28 (UPI) -- The amount of renewable energy generated in 2012 in Scotland reached a record of more than 14,600 gigawatt hours, Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said.
Ewing said the milestone represented nearly a 7 percent increase from the previous year. The government said the increase means now that total renewable energy generation in Scotland is enough to power the equivalent of every home in the country.
"We remain firmly on course to generate the equivalent of 100 percent of Scotland's electricity needs from renewables by 2020, with renewables generating more than enough electricity to supply every Scottish home," he said in a statement Thursday.
Ewing said wind power generation last year reached an all-time high of 8,296 GWh. Scotland's renewable energy made up 35 percent of the total renewable energy generation in the United Kingdom last year.
Scotland is to vote on independence from the United Kingdom next year. British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said it may be more difficult for an independent Scotland to compete in a global renewable energy sector.
