For the first time in the UK, low-carbon energy has been revealed to make the majority of electricity in the grid.
According to official data, a rapid rise in renewable energy, combined with low-carbon electricity from nuclear reactors has made up around 53% of generation through 2018 - this was revealed in the Government’s annual review of energy statistics. Renewable energy sources have set a new record, this time by meeting a third of the UK's power generation, as the UK's capacity to generate power from the sun, wind, water and waste has grown by 10%, whilst the use of coal has fallen to a lowly 5%.
National Grid has earlier said the UK reported their greenest ever winter, due to heavy wind and a dwindling of coal-fired power. This was then followed by the second greenest summer (falling narrowly short of the 2017 record as a result of a heatwave - this can impact on solar panels and the wind speeds are suppressed).
The rise of renewables has contributed to phasing out the use of coal and gas plants (which only made up 45% of the UK's electricity last year). Steadily over the years, the use of these non-renewable sources has declined as a result of shutdowns and a set of conversions to use biomass instead of coal.
The deputy chief executive of Renewable UK, Emma Pinchbeck has commented that the record-breaking figures: "clearly show that investment in renewables and the Government’s championing of offshore wind is delivering rapid change to our energy system”.
Renewable energy schemes are seen as great for not only the environment, but society as well. They contribute employment, investment, and help to bring down prices for consumers, along with boosting the competitiveness of the business.
Earlier this year, the Government threw a lot of interest into the offshore wind sector, by promising developers the chance to compete for a share of £557 million of state money, in exchange for industry investment of £250 million over the next 11 years. This deal could help in growing offshore wind to be 30% of the UK's electricity by 2030. This is a good step towards the 2050 net-zero emissions target that just recently has been passed into law.
Unfortunately, ministers have refused to lift a block on support for the new onshore wind farms as they are unable to compete for the state income, despite being one of the cheapest forms of electricity.
Pinchbeck stated, "To achieve its net-zero ambitions, the new government needs to go further and faster - and the first steps should be removing the barriers to onshore wind which is our cheapest source of power, and building on our successes in innovative technologies like tidal energy and floating wind where the UK can be a world leader."
