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This year Britain has gone 650 hours already without
needing coal to meet electricity demands - more than the whole
of 2017
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So far this year almost two thirds less coal has been
used for electricity than was used by the end of April in
2018
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We’re on track to phase out coal-fired power generation
entirely by 2025
Britain has gone a record-breaking 650 hours without using coal
to generate electricity in the first three months of this year –
more than the whole of 2017, according to new independent
figures.
Energy and Clean Growth Minister, said:
“Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, which is why we’ve
committed to phasing it out entirely from our energy mix by 2025
as we help lead the world in the transition to cleaner
technologies.
“This year we’ve already gone almost one month without coal to
meet Britain’s electricity needs – more than the whole of 2017 -
as we continue to seize the economic opportunities of moving to a
greener, cleaner economy.”
Since the start of the year Great Britain has only used 2.8 Twh
(terawatt hours) compared with 8.3 Twh by this point in 2018 – a
drop of almost two thirds. Since the start of February only 0.5
Twh of coal has been used, suggesting 2019 is on track to break
all previous records.
The government has put clean growth at the heart of the
Industrial Strategy through the Clean Growth Grand Challenge.
This will build on the transformation in the energy sector that
has contributed to the whole of the UK cutting its emissions by
44 per cent since 1990 while growing the economy by more than two
thirds – the best performance on a per person basis of any G7
nation.
The government’s ongoing support for renewable energy has seen a
boost in clean energy entering the grid. Stats released in
March showed low-carbon generation provided a record 53% of
UK-wide electricity generation in in 2018 while use of coal for
power generation has dropped by nearly 90 per cent since
2012.
In addition, in 2017 the government committed to phasing out
unabated coal power by 2025 and launched the international
Powering Past Coal Alliance – a voluntary coalition of
governments, businesses and other organisations committed to
ending the use of dirty coal power, which now
has 80 members, including the
South Chungcheong province in South Korea – home
to half of the country’s coal power generation.
Additional Information
- Electricity generation from renewable sources in the UK
increased by 12 per cent between 2017 and 2018.
- The UK has invested more than £52 billion in renewable energy
in the UK since 2010, with £557 million more being made available
for future clean electricity contracts.
- In 2018, 33.3% of electricity in in the UK is generated from
renewable sources, up from 29.3 per cent last year.
- In 2018, 5% of electricity came from coal, the lowest since
the Industrial Revolution with 21 coal-free days across the whole
of the year.
- 8.2 GW total UK offshore wind capacity at the end of last
year
- Solar: 99% of UK solar capacity in 2018 deployed since
2010
- Generation from wind (onshore and offshore) increased by 14
per cent in 2018 compared to 2017 – a record high.
- Solar generation increased to 12.9 TWh in 2018 – a record
high – increasing by 12 per cent on 2017 levels.
- Reduced outages increased bioenergy generation to 35.6 TWh in
2018 – an increase of 12 per cent on 2017 and a record high.
