Thursday 18 January 2018

UK wind power tops 10GW for first time

 
British wind power output topped 10GW for the first time this week thanks to this winter's breezy weather.

That's according to new statistics from Drax Electric Insights, which shows generation hit a record high of 13.5GW yesterday, having broken the 10GW milestone earlier in the week.

At certain points, wind power alone was supplying up to 42% of the UK's electricity demand.

The UK renewables sector broke a series of records last year as the volume and effectiveness of clean energy sources on the grid increased.

Dr Jonathan Marshall, Energy Analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: "Breaking short-term output records on top of monthly and annual figures clearly shows that wind is now a major part of the UK electricity mix and will continue to be in the future.

"Claims that the grid would be unable to handle 5%, 10% or 20% wind power have been shown to be well wide of the mark."