Research shows Highland produces more renewable energy than any other Scottish region

More renewable energy is produced in the Highland Council area than any other region of Scotland, new research has shown.

The switching advice service at Utility Bidder created a Renewable Energy Index revealing the 10 greenest local authority areas of the UK based on renewable energy production.

It calculated the total amount of energy produced in megawatt hours per 10,000 households. Highland – one of six Scottish regions on the list – had a figure of 596,918.

That placed it well ahead of Argyll and Bute (328,201), Dumfries and Galloway (326,068), Scottish Borders (258,856), South Ayrshire (248,554) and Moray (243,688).

Highland produced a total of 7.2 million MWh, with four million MWh of energy from onshore wind and almost three million MWh from hydro.

The top UK local authority area was Selby in Yorkshire and Humber (3,264,381), with most of its total coming from plant biomass. Highland was placed second in the UK, with Lancaster in north-west England third (525,356).

Highland took the top spot for regions where applications for renewable energy sites have been refused the most, with 40.

Top 10 UK regions producing the most renewable energy, assessed by Utility Bidder, based on MWh per 10,000 households:

1 Selby, England (3,264,381)

2 Highland (596,918)

3 Lancaster, England (525,356)

4 Argyll and Bute (328,201)

5 Dumfries and Galloway (326,068)

6 East Suffolk, England (318,286)

7 Scottish Borders (258,856)

8 South Ayrshire (248,554)

9 Moray (243,688)

10 Fermanagh and Omagh, Northern Ireland (211,560)

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