The latest @ElecInsights report is out from @imperialcollege, led by Dr. @iain_staffell.
📊For the first time ever, installed wind capacity has surpassed gas on the UK's national grid, reaching 27.9GW in June compared to the 27.7GW installed capacity of gas generation. 1/8
At the same time, coal and gas power generation has plummeted at the fastest rate outside of the pandemic. Drax Electric Insights has found that output from gas-fired power stations fell by 23% in Q2 2023 compared to the same quarter last year. 2/8
Meanwhile output from Old King Coal, which was once was the backbone of grid, was slashed by 75% to its lowest levels on record. 3/8
Overall, carbon emissions from electricity production fell to less than 10 million tonnes of CO2 in the second quarter of 2023 for only the second time on record, with the only previous occasion being due to the destruction of demand from Covid-19 lockdowns. 4/8
Left: Electricity generated from fossil fuels in Britain during each quarter since 2010 Right: Year-on-year change in electricity generated from fossil fuels in Britain during each quarter since 2010. 5/8
Dr @iain_staffell: "Wind power is blowing away gas and coal from Britain’s energy mix and in just a decade, we’ve gone from relying completely on the polluting fuels of the past to embracing the clean energy technologies of the future." 6/8
Britain now has just one coal-fired power station following Drax’s decision earlier this year to end the use of the fuel at its plant in North Yorkshire. Once the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe, it is now the single largest generator of UK renewable power. 7/8
💡For the first time, wind power has generated more electricity in the UK than any other single fuel source during a whole quarter. New data from Drax @ElecInsights via @imperialcollege & Dr.@iain_staffell 1/6
🚘🔋Across the first three months of 2023, Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of electricity – enough to charge more than 300 million Tesla Model Ys. Output from wind was 3% higher than during the same quarter last year, while gas was down by 5%. 2/6
📊Almost 42% of Britain’s electricity came from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, and hydro) in the first three months of 2023. Fossil fuels supplied 33%, with the rest coming from imports from abroad and the country’s shrinking nuclear fleet. 3/6