Energy Statistics for Scotland - Q1 2026

Electricity Generation Emissions

In 2024, each kilowatt hour of electricity generated in Scotland added an estimated 20.6g of CO2e per kWh (Figure 5). Since 2017, grid intensity in Scotland has been below the 50 gCO2e/kWh ambition for 2020 outlined in the previous Climate Change Plan. Scotland’s Climate Change Plan: 2026–2040 includes an updated objective of maintaining electricity grid intensity below 40 gCO2e/kWh.

Figure 5:

Source – Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2024 (published 9th June 2026)

The steady drop in greenhouse gas emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity correlates with the shift towards low carbon electricity generation (Figure 6). In 2024, fossil fuels provided just 7.0% of Scotland’s electricity generation. Figure 6 shows the transformation in Scotland’s electricity generation since 2004 when low carbon sources provided half of the electricity generated in Scotland.

Figure 6:  

Source – Electricity generation and supply in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, 2020 to 2024 (published 18th December 2025)