Britain smashes coal-free record, again.

Could the UK see its first coal-free month this year?

From BusinessGreen

UK has clocked up almost 11 days of coal-free power generation, while gas power has also been running at low levels

Britain has now gone more than 10 days straight without generating any of its electricity from coal, smashing the previous record set just weeks ago. 

National Grid confirmed this morning the UK - not including Northern Ireland - is closing in on 260 continuous hours without coal-fired power generation, prompting speculation that should favourable weather conditions continue the coal-free period could last until the end of the month.

For the last 10 days England, Scotland and Wales have managed without coal, with wind, solar, biomass and nuclear, alongside electricity from European interconnectors, supplying the bulk of Britain's power.

The latest milestone far surpasses the previous record set on May 8, when the UK clocked up an entire coal-free week for the first time since the Industrial Revolution. Speaking at the time, Fintan Slye, director of National Grid Electricity Systems Operator, predicted coal-free periods would soon be "the new normal" and the UK would be able to operate a zero carbon electricity system by 2025, when the government has said it wants to end unabated coal generation altogether.

A spell of bright, blustery days has raised generation levels for wind and solar power. This, combined with low levels of demand for power has meant the grid has also been running with low levels [less than 3 GW] of gas-fired power generation in recent days.

All told, domestic fossil fuels contributed as little as 15 per cent of the electricity share on Sunday, according to energy analyst Thomas Edwards.

[Read more here]

Getting rid of coal in our generation mix world wide would be a huge step towards reducing our greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.  (The other would be cutting down on beef and pork.)

Three steps we can take:

• Build no more coal power stations, and start closing down those we already have.   Britain, the country where the industrial revolution started, is doing it.  So can we.
• Transit our vehicle fleet to electric engines.  This is happening already, but taxes and subsidies will help it happen faster.
• Eat less meat.