Scotland is set to hit its green energy targets and more this year, as the country’s Energy Minister said he expected around 35% of Scotland’s electricity to come from renewables in 2011, beating the Scottish Government’s target of 31%.

Statistics published today show the amount of renewable electricity generated in 2011 rose by 45% on 2010 levels to 13,750 Gigawatt hours.

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing was less than subtle about where much of the UK’s renewable energy was being produced: “It’s official – 2011 was a record breaker, with enough green electricity being produced in Scotland to comfortably beat our interim target. And Scotland met almost 40% of the UK’s renewables output in 2011, demonstrating just how much the rest of the UK needs our energy.”

The Scottish Government’s target is to meet the equivalent of 100% of total annual electricity demand from renewables by 2020. There are currently 7 GW of renewable projects operating, under construction or consented in Scotland.