2017 has seen the UK reach a number of milestones in relation to the production of renewable energy.
In April, we witnessed the UK go an entire 24 hours without any energy from coal-fired power stations. Instead, electricity was supplied through a combination of gas powered plants (47%), nuclear plants (18%), wind farms (18%), solar panels (10%) and biomass (6%).
Then, at 1 pm on the 26 May (with a little help from the sunny weather), the UK was able to provide almost a quarter of its electricity demand through solar power. An impressive 8.7 GW of electricity was generated, beating the previous high of 8.48 GW, meeting just over 24% of the electricity demand at that time. With plans to increase the number of solar farms across the country, it is looking promising that the production of electricity from solar energy could continue to rise.
Not to remain complacent, on Wednesday 7 June, the UK reached another milestone. This time, it was reported that the alternative energy sources generated over 50% of the UK's electricity. It is the first time ever, in the UK, where the renewable resources generated more electricity than that which has been generated by coal and gas.
From an environmental perspective, this is welcome news. Whilst there is still a considerable amount of development in technology required before we see renewables providing 100% of the UK's energy needs, it demonstrates that it is starting to position itself as a feasible alternative to the burning of fossil fuels in helping to meet the UK's future energy needs.
