For the first time, Britain’s wind farms are generating more electricity than gas-fired power stations. This was disclosed in findings covering the first three months of this year in an independent report by academics from Imperial College London commissioned by the UK renewable power producer Drax Group.
During Q1 2023, nearly one third (32.4 percent) of UK’s electricity was supplied from wind power versus gas, which delivered 31.7 percent.
Over this period, Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of electricity – three percent higher than during the same quarter last year, while gas was down by five percent.
In total, 42 percent of Britain’s electricity came from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass and hydro) during the same quarter. Fossil fuels supplied 33 percent, with the rest coming from imports from abroad and the country’s shrinking nuclear fleet.
“In the space of a decade the UK has almost completely cut out coal, after relying on the most polluting fossil fuel for over a century to power our country,” said Dr.Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the Drax Electric Insights report series. “There are still many hurdles to reaching a completely fossil-free grid, but wind out-supplying gas for the first time is a genuine milestone event.
(Photo of Hornsea wind farm off the UK east coast)
