The wind energy industry saw yet another boost this week in Scotland with a 43pc increase in February's production compared to the total for February last year. The windier weather and additional capacity saw 1,330,000 Mwh of green electricity produced for the country.
There were also a number of days when the wind's power output actually exceeded the demand for energy, which was another significant achievement. The hope is that Scotland continues to produce more of these '100pc wind energy' days to continue its role in moving away from fossil fuels.
WWF Scotland Director, Lang Banks, spoke of the news, saying that wind power plays a crucial role in the country's economy and the drive to reduce greenhouse gases. There are thousands of wind energy jobs in Scotland, and the technology helps Scotland to avoid more than one million tonnes of carbon emissions on a monthly basis.
WWF is calling on the government to commit more strongly to the move to a low-carbon sustainable economy. All political parties have publicly supported the drive to produce half of Scotland's total power needs from clean and green renewable energy by 2030 across the electricity, heat and transport sectors.
However, policies that would maximise the benefits of a renewable future are yet to be forthcoming, and Scottish Renewables has warned that it expects to see a reduction in the Scottish wind power sector's workforce of nearly 17pc in the coming year.
Its Policy Director, Jenny Hogan, said that a key blocker was the UK government's refusal to permit solar and onshore wind to bid competitively for long-term electricity supply contracts against traditional fossil fuel companies. Until this happens, she explained, renewables would be prevented from reaching their full competitive scale.