• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Corporate News
  • Generation
  • Oil & Gas
  • Regulation
  • Renewable
    • Climate
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Storage
  • Tech
  • T & D
Energy News Desk Logo

Energy News Desk

Energy News and Data

18 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and counting: Britain hits a new record for coal-free electricity generation

April 28, 2020 by CNBC

Cooling towers at the decommisioned Willington Power Station, England, on October 29, 2018.

Paul Ellis | AFP | Getty Images

A new record has been set for coal-free electricity generation in Great Britain, with a combination of factors — including coronavirus related lockdown measures — playing a role.

On Tuesday morning, electricity system operator National Grid ESO said that all electricity generated in Britain had been produced without coal for a new record of 18 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.  

“The previous record of 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes — set in June last year — was broken at 6.10am this morning, marking over 438 hours and 10 minutes since the last coal generator came off the system at midnight on Thursday 9 April,” the company said.

The milestone comes after Britain’s highest level of solar powered electricity, some 9.68 gigawatts, was generated on April 20.

In a statement, the operator explained that both weather (which affects solar and wind generation) and reduced levels of electricity demand had played a role in determining Britain’s electricity mix.

A national lockdown, in place since the end of March to try and tackle the coronavirus pandemic, had resulted in a “significant reduction in demand across the country, with an increase in domestic consumption being outweighed by reduced industrial demand,” National Grid ESO said in a statement.

This change, alongside “frequent” spells of sunny and windy weather, were all described as contributing factors to why coal generation was not required over recent weeks.

“Renewables will continue to grow rapidly to meet the U.K.’s target of net zero emissions; offshore wind alone will generate over 30% of UK power by 2030,” Melanie Onn, the deputy chief executive of RenewableUK, said in a statement issued Tuesday.

“Alongside other low cost options like onshore wind, there are huge opportunities for innovative technologies like marine energy, floating wind, battery storage and renewable hydrogen to accelerate the U.K.’s transition to net zero.”

As a source of power, coal’s importance in Britain is starting to fade. According to the government, “reliance on coal for electricity” has fallen from 70% in 1990 to under 3% today.

Authorities are aiming to remove coal from Britain’s energy system by 2025 and recently announced they would consult on moving that deadline to October 1, 2024.

In a sign of how times are changing, this year has already seen several coal plants in Europe close their doors.

Two coal-fired facilities in the U.K., operated by SSE and RWE, shut down on the same day at the end of March, while Austria’s last operational coal-fired power station closed earlier this month.

In February, energy firm Drax said coal-fired electricity production at the U.K.’s largest power plant was expected to end in March 2021.

Original source: CNBC

Filed Under: Generation, Renewable

Primary Sidebar

Join The Daily Charge

This week's top 5 stories in your inbox. No spam ever.

Trending

  • SunShare Powers On Colorado Community Solar Project
  • ALLETE Clean Energy’s Diamond Spring Achieves Commercial Operations
  • RESET Launches Advanced Testing Simulator for Wind Turbines
  • Crowdfunded solar puts Red Lake Nation on a path to energy sovereignty
  • Consortium Receives Funding to Research Feasibility of Renewable Hydrogen
  • GameChange Solar Unveils New BifacialReflector Technology
  • East Coast, West Coast: Very Different Offshore Wind Industries
  • Orsted, PGE Partner on Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Projects
  • Siemens Gamesa Supplies Turbines to Canada’s Rattlesnake Wind Farm
  • eia.gov logo EIA expects higher wholesale U.S. natural gas prices in 2021 and 2022

Footer

Trending

  • SunShare Powers On Colorado Community Solar Project
  • ALLETE Clean Energy’s Diamond Spring Achieves Commercial Operations
  • RESET Launches Advanced Testing Simulator for Wind Turbines
  • Crowdfunded solar puts Red Lake Nation on a path to energy sovereignty
  • Consortium Receives Funding to Research Feasibility of Renewable Hydrogen

Recent

  • Quick Tips To A Sustainable Future
  • Stem Provides Smart Energy Storage Solutions to Today’s Power
  • EIA's AEO2021 shows U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions rising after the mid-2030s
  • Homeowners associations still a barrier for some would-be solar customers
  • Commentary: With open standards, U.S. can build EV charging infrastructure faster

Search

Contact Us

Write For Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · EnergyNewsDesk.com