Wind energy generates more than half of UK electricity for first time

The news is encouraging for the British government, which wants wind to consistently provide a third of the country’s electricity by 2030.

Drax added: “Britain has experienced a revolution in renewables over the last decade with the growth of biomass, wind and solar power.”

The National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) continued the positive news by stating that 2020 was a momentous year for the UK in terms of renewable energy.
Furthermore, he revealed on Christmas Day that the share of coal in the UK electricity mix was kept at zero for the first time.

The figure stood at 1.8 percent in the same period last year and at 20 percent in 2009.

Julian Leslie, NGESO’s head of networks, announced Britain’s switch to renewables as a huge success.

He said, “When I joined National Grid in 1989, we were still dependent on large coal-fired power plants to generate electricity for the country.”
Leslie went on to explain, “This was just how electricity was generated.

“The GB energy system has changed a lot since then.

“The last 15 years have been truly transformative.

“The UK has led the world in decarbonisation, with the electricity sector reducing CO2 intensity by 60 per cent between 2013 and 2019.”

NGESO said: “2020 was the greenest year on record for Britain’s electricity system, with an average carbon intensity, the measure of CO2 emissions per unit of electricity consumed, reaching a new low.”