Britain’s renewable energy industry has achieved its highest ever output.
It was confirmed last week that the nation’s wind turbines and solar panels had helped to meet more than half of the UK’s power needs.
According to data compiled by National Grid last Wednesday, 7.6GW of electricity was generated by solar power, while wind farms were able to produce 9.5GW.
These figures were supplemented by the energy created by renewable biomass and hydroelectricity.
This is the first time ever that renewable forms of energy and nuclear power have together produced more power than Britain’s coal and gas operations.
Emma Pinchbeck, who heads up renewable energy trade body RenewableUK, said: “National Grid is confirming that low-carbon sources are generating 70 per cent of our electricity - with wind power the star amongst these sources.
“[The] incoming government should be proud of what the wind sector has achieved in the UK, and work with the industry to ensure that these record-breaking days for wind energy generation become our new norm.”
The UK figures come as renewable energy capacity increases worldwide, driven in part by reduced costs.
Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate expert, who delivered the Paris Agreement, said: “The economic case for renewables as the backbone of our global energy system is increasingly clear and proven.
“Offering ever greater bang-for-buck, renewables are quite simply the cheapest way to generate energy in an ever-growing number of countries.”
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