UK gets more power from renewables than fossil fuels

Wind farm in Scotland.  Source: Wikipedia

From ScienceAlert

We've just hit another major milestone in the shift towards renewables: in the third quarter of 2019, the UK generated more electricity from renewable sources than it did from fossil fuel power stations.  The combined energy produced from wind farms, solar panels, biomass and hydropower plants (29.5 terawatt hours) exceeded the amount of energy produced from coal, oil, and gas (29.1 terawatt hours).  This is something that hasn't happened since the UK's first public electricity generating power station opened in 1882.

Across July, August and September, renewable energy production accounted for 40 percent of the UK's electricity, with fossil fuels (mostly gas) just behind at 39 percent. Of the remaining 21 percent, the majority came from nuclear power stations.  [In 2013, the renewable percentage was 14.9%]

Less than 10 years ago, the fossil fuel contribution to the UK electricity market was around four-fifths, but the situation is quickly changing. Back in May, the country went six days without burning any coal at all – and indeed coal-powered plants are due to be phased out completely by 2025.

However, there is a caveat worth flagging: 12 percent of that renewable energy came from burning biomass and wood pellets, which don't meet the strictest definition of renewables – regrowing forests to suck up the carbon dioxide produced can take some time.

Nevertheless, it's encouraging to see that the country that kicked off the Industrial Revolution is now helping to lead the way towards a renewable future – because of the UK's size it's not going to make the biggest difference to CO2 levels overall, but let's hope the more populous nations continue to follow suit.