Renewables supply nearly a third of UK electricity for Q2 2017

Low carbon electricity’s (renewables plus nuclear) share of electricity generation reached a record high of 53% in the second quarter of 2017, compared to 47% in the second quarter of 2016, with renewables’ share of electricity generation also at a record high of 30%, says the latest Energy Trends report from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Renewable electricity generation was 23 TWh in 2017 Q2, an increase of 14% on the 2016 figure. Renewable electricity generating capacity was 38 GW at the end of 2017 Q2, a 13% increase on a year earlier, with over half of the annual increase coming from onshore wind.

Meanwhile, coal-fired stations made no contribution to power generation in Great Britain for a second day on 1 October, according to data from energy market monitoring firm EnAppSys. On April 21, the country saw the first day of no coal generation, possibly since the industrial revolution, as coal was displaced by renewable generation – in particular 1.7 GW of solar output. This notable occasion was repeated on 1 October. Again, high renewable output was the cause of coal’s displacement, though this time it was high wind generation (averaging 8.8 GW and peaking at 11 GW) which pushed out coal.

As 1 October was a Sunday, demand was relatively low at an average of 28 GW. The high wind generation also resulted in low prices in the market, with pumped storage able to pump water uphill for £0/MWh during Sunday evening, adds EnAppSys.
 

•       National Grid expects there to be sufficient generation and interconnector imports to meet electricity demand over the winter, and for ‘a wide range of dynamic supply sources’ to meet winter gas demand as well. The predictions are contained in the company’s Winter Outlook Report 2017/18.