Figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that renewables generated more electricity in the last quarter than coal or nuclear plants.
According to DECC, of electricity generated in the second quarter of 2015, gas accounted for 30.2%, coal 20.5%, nuclear 21.5%, and renewables 25.3%. A total of 42% of this came from onshore and offshore wind, with wind generating 10.7% of the country’s needs.
Overall year-on-year figures show that renewable electricity generation rose by 51.4%, with increased capacity coupled with high wind speeds, and solar levels.
Solar PV generation rose by 115%, from 1.5TWh to 3.2TWh, due to increased capacity, while generation from bioenergy increased by 26.2%.
Wind generation rose by 65.2%, due to higher wind speeds and increased capacity from the continued expansion of several large-scale offshore wind farms.
Total demand for coal in the second quarter of 2015, at 8.5 million tonnes (a record low), was 22% lower than in the second quarter of 2014.
Consumption of coal by electricity generators was down by 27% to 6.1 million tonnes due to reasons including the temporary closure of some plants due to market conditions, along with an increase in the carbon price floor from April 2015, the partial closure of Ferrybridge C, and a second unit of Drax being converted to biomass.
In a statement, Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK’s chief executive said: “Renewables have now become Britain’s second largest source of electricity, generating more than a quarter of our needs.
“The new statistics show that Britain is relying increasingly on dependable renewable sources to keep the country powered up, with onshore and offshore wind playing the leading roles in our clean energy mix.
“As the transition to clean electricity continues apace, we’d welcome clearer signals from government that it’s backing the installation of vital new projects. So far, we’ve had a series of disappointing announcements from ministers since May, which unfortunately betray a lack of positive ambition at the heart of government.
“If ministers want to see good statistics like we’ve had…continuing into the years ahead, they have to knuckle down, listen to the high level of public support we enjoy, and start making positive announcements on wind, wave and tidal energy”.
Renewable energy is the way forward. Government should take note of the latest figures as shown in The Engineer. Building incredibly expensive and dangerous nuclear plants is ridiculous and shows lack of sensitivity to public opinion. More renewables please and more articles on this subject.
The headline seems to be incorrect. Renewables (25.3%) have not outpaced gas at 30.2%. It should read Coal.
A good news story for renewables, but how much of the headline grabbing figures are down to the time of year? I imagine summer is a low point for energy consumption amongst the majority of households, and may also coincide with a peak in PV generation. Just saying!
The claim about renewables proportion of power generation is true. However, the truth is not as simple as it looks; renewables includes wood burning at Drax that is purely a subsidised removal of coal burning to burn an environmentally worse fuel, (transport costs, losses in handling and cost of preparation etc.) at a time when coal prices are at a low and countries such a Germany are exploiting coal sensibly.
Another factor that is not discussed and apparently not monitored by DECC is the cost of support fuel for the intermittent behaviour of wind and solar power. This cost used to be levied against unreliable generators: it is now another subsidy-charge on the user.
Accepting that we have invested loads of the UKs wealth into the white elephants of windmills and solar, there is a pressing need for storage to match the intermittency or the power generation system will soon fail and third-world style rolling black-outs are getting nearer.
The COP at Paris is getting near so expect more bombardment with half-truth based hype.
Excellent news. The comment about the summer being good for solar and a low point for heating is a good question though.
It would be nice to see some tidal stream energy in the mix. The potential is enormous and there is a promising location at Spurn Point off the Humber estuary not too far from areas of high population density. (Tidal stream turbines not tidal barriers)
The other technology that has merit is Thorium fission reactors. Since these use a liquid rather than a solid phase fuel, they cannot melt down. The waste is a hot but short lived and since it is a strong gamma ray source it is useless for making weapons. There are issues that need further work and these are a wonderful opportunity for the UK the engineering base. But will we take it?
It’s also summer, coal power stations are normally closed for maintenance but will start up again when the cold weather comes, and get ready as coal will then be the main source of UK power
Power generating subsidies -> higher cost electricity -> electricity using industry dies. RiP steelmaking in the UK. -> watch out other large users!
The recent BBC 4 program about Ferrybridge coal fire power station highlighted how little generating surplus the country has; about 1.2% on 17th November. How is the country going to find enough power to run the electrified GWR and other lines?