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Low carbon energy sources responsible for 50 per cent of British electricity in 2017

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New research has revealed that exactly half of Britain’s electricity came from low carbon energy sources last year.

The latest Electric Insights report from Imperial College London suggests that electricity generated by the likes of biomass, solar, wind and hydro power grew by more than a quarter in 2017, soaring to some 96 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity power.

The Independent has noted that the amount of renewable power produced last year could have powered the entire country and its 52 million people for a whole year back in 1958.

According to the figures cited in the sixth Electric Insights report, wind power enjoyed a bumper year in 2017, providing 45 per cent more power to the UK grid than in the previous year.

Researchers have said that this is largely down to high wind speeds throughout the year coupled with the construction and completion of a number of offshore and onshore wind facilities.

However, the report also noted that biomass, solar and hydro all performed well over the course of the year.

Andy Koss, Chief Executive of Drax Power, which collaborated with Imperial College London on the report, said that the data proved that the UK was making “great progress” in terms of “decarbonising the energy sector.”

Dr Iain Staffell, of the Centre for Environmental Policy, added: “2017 was a remarkable year for Britain’s renewables and wind power has shown how it is, and will continue to be, a major contributor to our energy needs.

“We are an island nation surrounded by the Atlantic and North Sea, if there is one thing we can rely on it is having plenty of winter storms,” he said.

The full Electric Insights report can be accessed here.  

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