Wind power account for more than half of the record 37% of the Britain’s electricity generated by renewables last year, according to the latest figures from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Statistics from BEIS’ Energy Trends report show that 20% of the UK’s power last year came from wind – 9.9% from onshore and 9.9% from offshore plant – as the sector produced a total of 64TWh.
“Today’s record-breaking figures show just how radically the UK’s energy system is changing, with low-cost renewables at the vanguard,” said Melanie Onn, deputy chief executive of national industry body RenewableUK.
“This will continue as we build a modern energy system, moving away from fossil fuels to reach net zero emissions as fast as possible. As well as wind, we’ll use innovative new technologies like renewable hydrogen and marine power, and we’ll scale up battery storage.
“Low-cost renewables are central to the government’s energy strategy and our sector will grow rapidly in the years ahead, as our domestic supply chain expands and we continue to seize multi-billion pound export opportunities around the world.”
Over the last three months of 2019, wind set a new quarterly record by generating 22.3% of UK electricity, with onshore farms producging 10.2TWh and offshore 9.2TWh, as renewables overall supplied 32.5TWh, equal to 37.4% of total supply.
RUK highlighted that the BEIS figures also point to U K greenhouse gas emissions having droppe by 45.2% compared to 1990 and 3.6% lower than 2018, as Brtain’s electricity generation continued its shift away from coal.
Overall electricity generation in 2019 slipped by 2.8%, according to the BEIS statistics, from 333TWh a year earlier to 324TWh, with falls in generation from coal and nuclear offset by an increase from renewables, primarily bioenergy, wind and solar generation.
