According to official figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, wind farms and solar panels produced more electricity than the UK's eight nuclear power stations for the first time at the end of 2017. Greenhouse gas emissions also continued to fall, dropping 3% as coal use fell and renewable use rose.
A combination of high wind speeds, new renewables installations and low nuclear output meant that wind and solar became the second biggest source of power for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, renewables are still a significant distance behind gas, the UK's top source of electricity, which saw its share of generation fall only slightly.
The energy sector experienced the largest drop in emissions of any UK sector, falling by 8%, whilst pollution from transport and businesses remained flat. Energy industry chiefs called for the Government to rethink its ban on onshore wind subsidies as a result of these figures. Large-scale solar and onshore wind projects are not eligible for support as the Government cut subsidies in 2015.
Horizon Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi, is in talks with Whitehall officials for a financial support package from the Government, which it says it needs by midsummer. Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the big six lobby group Energy UK, said: "We need to keep up the pace by ensuring that the lowest cost renewables are no longer excluded from the market."
