Watchdog Rubbishes Scotland’s Claim That It Has 25 Percent of Europe’s Potential Offshore Wind Resources
The UK Statistics Authority has called on the Scottish National Party (SNP) to abandon its use of a statistic that inflates Scotland’s green energy potential.
On Thursday, Sir Robert Chote, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, released a letter that the independent body is engaging with the SNP over its use of a claim that Scotland has a quarter of the offshore wind resource potential in Europe.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney have repeated the claim that Scotland has 25 percent of Europe’s potential offshore wind resources.
Dismantled
The claim originated in a 2010 publication by the Scottish government, drawing on estimates that the country has an offshore wind potential of 25 gigawatts and Europe one of 102 gigawatts. However, these figures are derived from separate studies that are both more than 20 years old and not directly comparable….