Wind generated enough power to meet the electrical needs of almost 100 percent of Scottish homes last year, research by WWF Scotland has shown.
According to the WWF's analysis of data provided by WeatherEnergy, enough power was generated by wind to supply the electricity needs of 97 percent of homes.
Not to be outdone, for seven months in 2015 solar power was able to meet "half or more of household electricity or hot water needs" for homes fitted with solar panels.
"Without doubt, 2015 was a huge year for renewables, with wind turbines and solar panels helping to ensure millions of tonnes of climate-damaging carbon emissions were avoided," Lang Banks, WWF Scotland's director, said in a news release yesterday.
"On average, across 2015, wind power generated enough to supply the electrical needs of 97 percent of Scottish households, with six months where the amount was greater than 100 percent," Banks went on to add.
"And, in the tens of thousands of Scottish households that have installed solar panels, half or more of their electricity or hot water needs were met from the sun for the most of the year, helping those homes to reduce their reliance on coal, gas, or oil," he said.
Digging deeper into to the analysis, WWF Scotland said that for 29 out of 31 days in December, wind turbines generated enough power to supply more than 100 percent of Scottish homes.
Scotland has set itself ambitious targets when it comes to renewables. From 2020, it is hoped that at least 30 percent of total energy demand will be met by renewables.
WWF Scotland's analysis comes hot on the heels of the historic agreement reached at the COP21 summit in Paris, where 195 countries agreed to keep global warming "well below" two degrees centigrade.
"Following the recent Paris climate talks where there were calls for greater use of low-carbon energy sources, the data show that renewables are already playing a major and increasing role in Scotland's, and the rest of the U.K.'s, overall energy mix," Karen Robinson, of WeatherEnergy, said.
