Energy Production and Usage
Shetland's Electricity and District Heating Consumption
The mean domestic electricity consumption for Shetland in 2024 was 8,434 Kilowatt hours (kWh) per household. This was the highest in the UK, with the Scottish average 3,448 and the UK average 3,463 kWh per household.
In total, the 2024 electricity consumption rate for Shetland was 176.5 Gigawatt hours, with 51% utilised by domestic properties and 49% by non-domestic.
50% of Shetland’s electricity is currently supplied by the diesel-fired Lerwick Power Station, 30% by the gas-fired Sullom Voe Terminal Power Station and around 20% small independent and community based renewable generators. In 2024/25 there was 177,379,700 kilowatt hours of electricity generated through these sources, which was distributed through 1,685.4km of overhead lines and underground cables.
Shetland also has 1 district heating scheme supplying 1,280 properties in Lerwick with around 40,000 megawatt hours of heat per year.
In 2024 there was a total of 451,850 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide emissions from the facilities supplying Shetland's electricity needs and district heating scheme.
Renewable Energy Generation
Shetland has a number of commercial, small independent and community owned renewable systems installed in domestic, public and community buildings - including wind, solar, tidal, hydro, biomass, heat pump and air source.
With the 103 turbine Viking windfarm becoming operational on 1st September 2024, the installed capacity of renewables in Shetland rose by 443,000 Kilowatts.
In 2025 the estimated installed capacity of renewables in Shetland was 459,000 Kilowatts - with 582 installations, which generated 383,542 Megawatt hours of electricity.
Electric Vehicles
In 2024, there were a total of 314 licensed plug in vehicles registered in Shetland.
The number of public electric vehicle charging stations in Shetland in 2025/26 was 35, with a total of 85 charge points.
Shetland's Climate Change Programme
Shetland Islands Council set up a Climate Change Programme in 2020, find more about the work being done here.