Renewable heat in Scotland, 2012

Updates

A new report has since been published in this series – please see the 2020 report for the most up to date information.

As a result, the figures in this publication are no longer applicable and should not be used. Historical reports remain available online to show changes to the methodology over the duration of the reporting series.

Much of the data used for the Renewable Heat in Scotland report is reviewed and updated on an annual basis, therefore improvements to the historical published figures will only be found in the latest report. These improvements may be due to access to new or improved datasets, changes to the methodology or corrections.

Background

The Scottish Government has set a target for 11% of non-electrical heat demand in Scotland to be met from renewable sources by 2020.

In order to help measure progress towards this target Energy Saving Trust maintains a database of renewable heat installations (referred to as the Renewable Heat Database or dataset throughout this report) on behalf of the Scottish Government. The database records installations known to be operating and those currently in various stages of development. It contains data on the capacity and yearly heat output of those installations and is updated annually.

The database has now been updated with new information on heat generated from renewable sources during the 2012 calendar year.

For any questions or comments relating to the Renewable Heat Database or accompanying analysis and report please contact RenewableReporting@est.org.uk.

Summary of key findings

We estimate that:

• in 2012, around 0.561 GW of renewable heat capacity was operational in Scotland, producing an estimated 2,481 GWh of useful renewable heat
• this equates to 4.1% of Scotland’s total forecast non-electrical heat demand in 2020
• this represents an increase of 0.077 GW of capacity from 2011, and an increase of 218 GWh of heat generated from renewable sources compared to that in 2011