The Rise of Renewables as Fossil Fuels Fall to Record Low

Renewable energy was largest source of power in the third quarter of 2019 with UK government figures revealing that the use of wind, solar and other renewables comprised 38.9%. The use of renewables just pipped gas to take the top spot while fossil fuels fell to their lowest share on record.

“The UK grid has hit a historic tipping point. This is great news all of us who are committed to reaching net zero emissions as fast and as cheaply as possible,” said Rebecca Williams, head of policy and regulation at RenewableUK.

According to the BEIS data, increases in output were seen for all categories of renewables, but were particularly substantial for wind and solar, jointly up 22 per cent to 18 TWh, as well as for hydro generation, which rose by 58 per cent to 1.4 TWh.

The report also showed that coal-fired power stations contributed just 1% of the UK’s energy in the third quarter, a decline from the 2.5% recorded in the same period in 2018.

Coal power generation is on the verge of disappearing completely and its decline has come quicker than forecast due to the earlier-than-expected end of power generation at the Cottam coal plant in Nottinghamshire. The plant burned through its final coal stocks ahead of the expected 30th September deadline. Two more coal power stations are due to close in March leaving the UK with just four coal power stations.

Earlier this month wind energy smashed previous records in the amount of energy generated (almost 45% of the UK’s electricity on one day, an all-time high of 16GW) and has seen its share of production increase month on month throughout the year. Offshore wind project generated 9.8%, up from 6.7% in 2018 and produced more power than onshore farms (9.2%) for the first time.

Energy production via nuclear energy recorded a 21% drop in the third quarter compared with 2018 due to six of the eight UK nuclear power plants undergoing extensive maintenance shutdowns.

Overall, the total share of energy generated by fossil fuels dropped to a record low of 40.1% in the third quarter of 2019.

The increase in renewables and wind power resulted in thousands of consumers being paid to charge their electric vehicles or run their washing machines in the early hours to make use of the excess energy.

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