ScottishPower has warned that, if Britain is to successfully meet its own ambitious green energy targets, it needs to invest heavily in the national electricity grid network.

According to the company, at present the electrical grid is unable to cope with remote green energy projects such as windfarms and tidal energy sites, which it estimates will be needed to produce 45 per cent of all UK electricity in order to meet the country's targets set by the European Union.

Keith Anderson, head of UK renewables at ScottishPower, told Reuters: "The grid is not designed for this - it is designed for centralised nuclear power stations and coal plants. Windfarms tend to be further away from the UK population

"There were already issues at a 15 percent (electricity for renewables) target .. Our message to the UK government is we need to start today to invest in, and redesign the grid system as it takes a long time."

The comments come as the company's owner, Spain's Iberdrola, is working to construct the largest onshore windfarm in Scotland, which, when completed will be the largest of its kind in Europe.

National Grid currently manages UK electrical transmission systems, and a spokesman for the organisation has confirmed that it already has plans in place to invest in the sector over the coming years, partly to better accommodate renewables.