UK renewables surge to record-high 30 percent in first quarter

Renewable electricity provided a record 30.1 percent of all Britain’s power needs over the first three months of this year.

The record amount, totalling 27.9 terawatt hours, is a 10 percent increase on the same time last year, highlighting the UK’s rapid transition to clean energy.

The statistics come from the UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Wind power provided 19.1 percent of the total, bolstered by a range of new offshore and onshore capacity coming online and favourable wind speeds. All low-carbon electricity, including nuclear, reached 48 percent over the opening three months of 2018.

“These new figures show that wind power alone is generating nearly 20 percent of the UK’s entire electricity needs. Although that’s impressive, it’s just the start,” said Emma Pinchbeck at trade body RenewableUK.

However, the impressive data comes at a time where the government’s own climate advisers warn that not enough is being done to decarbonise other key parts of the economy. The Committee on Climate Change’s annual report, released yesterday, highlighted the strong progress in the electricity sector, but that this has come at the detriment of heating, transport and agriculture.

A strong policy environment has helped renewable technologies, such as wind and solar, surge in capacity over the past decade. 10 years ago wind was providing a mere 1 percent of electricity. The experts argue that this same clear and ambitious thinking should be applied to energy efficiency measures and accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles.

Ms Pinchbeck commented that the report “warns that we need to do more to reach our clean energy targets, and it recommends deploying more onshore wind because it’s the cheapest source of energy. We hope Ministers will listen to their own experts and take swift action to lift the block on future onshore projects.”

                  Onshore wind was the most productive renewable technology over the winter months

Source: BEIS