Midlothian generating more than 100 gigawatts per hour of electricity each year

More than 100 gigawatts per hour of renewable energy were produced in Midlothian last year, figures show.

General view of Whitelee Windfarm in Scotland. PA.

Environmental groups have urged the Government to expand on the success of a significant rise in green energy across the UK, amid vital UN Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow.

Figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show 133,777 megawatts per hour (around 134 gigawatts) of renewable electricity were generated in Midlothian in 2020. This was 10 per cent more energy than the 122 GWh produced the year before, and 54 per cent more than the amount produced in 2014 – the earliest year of data available.

Across the UK, 134,600 GWh of renewable energy was generated in 2020 – a 13 per cent rise on the year before, and above the nine per cent increase from 2018 to 2019. Renewables outstripped fossil fuels for the first time last year, representing 43 per cent of total generation – compared to 37 per cent in 2019.

Friends of the Earth said this is good for both the planet and the economy, as renewables are now the cheapest power source.

The biggest producer of energy in Midlothian last year was onshore wind farms, which generated 112 GWh – 84 per cent of the total.

This was followed by anaerobic digestion, which is the breakdown of organic material by micro-organisms to produce biogas (six per cent), and landfill gas, which is created by the decomposition of organic materials in a landfill – which generated a further seven GWh (six per cent).