Renewable electricity at record level in Scotland

Renewable electricity energy delivered a record-breaking 46 percent of Scotland's gross electricity consumption in 2013, new official figures showed on Thursday. The figures released by the British Department of Energy and Climate Change confirmed that Scotland is on track to meet its interim target of 50 percent by 2015, said the Scottish government press release. "These figures show that renewable electricity in Scotland is going from strength to strength," said Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing. Scottish renewable generation made up approximately 32 percent of total British renewable generation in 2013, showing that Scotland has some of the best natural resources and marine energy technologies, he added. He also noted that investment in Scottish renewable energy continues to grow, with 13.1 billion pounds (about 21.75 billion U.S. dollars) of announced industry investment and over 9,000 associated jobs between January 2010 and April 2013.