Wind wire: Windy 2008

Decc's quarterly publication, Energy Trends, shows that 2008 was one of the windiest years over the past decade, with an average load factor for onshore wind turbines of 29.4%. Load factor is the proportion of electricity generated from wind farms compared with the amount they would generate had they been available and running at maximum output throughout the year. The highest load factor for wind farms in any UK country was in Northern Ireland at 32.5%, followed by Wales at 30.6%, Scotland at 29.6% and England at 26.6%. The load factor for offshore wind farms was 34.9%. In 2008 renewables supplied 5.5% of the electricity generated in the UK - still a long way from its 2010 target of 10%. Wind accounted for 33% of total renewable generation.