Friday 26 May 2017

UK breaks solar power record

The UK's fleet of solar panels have generated a record amount of power today.

The renewable source is now providing around 8.7GW of electricity, i.e. 24.3% of demand.

The record was set at noon today, according to data from National Grid and Sheffield University.

It broke the previous record set on 10th May, when solar generation stood at 8.19GW.

National Grid expects production to increase further as the Met Office has forecast “plenty of sunshine” this afternoon.

Dr Grant Wilson from Energy 2050 at the University of Sheffield said: "Its another milestone day for solar with a peak output of 8.73GW and is likely to supply more than nuclear generation for over five hours today (provisional data). Providing around 25% at peak at a national level, this would be a much higher percentage in those parts of the country such as Cornwall with greater levels of solar generation."