Electricity from renewables outpaces gas and coal

A think tank has reported that the UK’s renewable electricity outpaced its fossil fuel generation for the first time in 2020 and could remain the largest source of electricity in the future.

Independent climate think tank Ember revealed that renewable energy generated by wind, sunlight, water and wood made up 42 per cent of the UK’s electricity last year, compared with 41 per cent generated from gas and coal plants together. This means that 2020 was the first time that renewables were the main source of the UK’s electricity over a year.

Ember said the UK’s growing stable of windfarms was one of the main reasons for the country’s renewable record. Figures show that almost a quarter of the UK’s electricity was generated by wind turbines last year, double the share of wind power in 2015 and up from a fifth of the UK’s electricity in 2019. In contrast, electricity from gas-fired power plants fell to a five-year low of 37 per cent of the UK’s electricity, while coal power plants made up just two per cent of the electricity mix.

The report found that solar and hydro power generated four per cent and two per cent of the UK’s electricity respectively last year, which was unchanged compared with the year before.

Charles Moore, the programme leader at Ember, said: “With Boris’s 40GW 2030 offshore wind target, gas generation is set for further rapid declines over the 2020s. It is clear the UK has started its journey towards gas power phase-out in 2035 as recommended by the Climate Change Committee.”