The UK has just enjoyed its greenest Christmas ever, with over 40 per cent of the electricity generated on December 25th coming from renewable sources, 75 per cent of the power coming from wind turbines.
This is according to a new report from Drax and Electric Insights, revealing that 12.4GW of electricity was generated from green sources, 63 per cent more than last year and a hike of 195 per cent compared to 2012. Biomass generation has also been on the up, rising from 0.5GW in 2012 to 2GW on Christmas Day this year.
CEO of Drax Power Andy Koss said: “These Christmas figures show that the UK energy system really is changing. Renewables are increasingly vital to the UK’s energy mix as we decarbonise and move away from coal.”
He went on to add that biomass can allow for more continuous power generation than other renewables, which is vital for security of supply.
It’s looking likely that even more positive developments will happen in the year ahead and beyond, with the government recently pledging £730 million for renewable electricity projects over this parliament.
It’s hoped that this will see carbon emissions reduced by around 2.5 million tonnes a year from 2021/22 onwards. And other suggestions have been made for phasing out electricity generation from coal power stations in the next decade – so it’s looking increasingly that it’s going to be renewables’ time in the sun sooner rather than later.
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