Low carbon ‘generated more than half of UK electricity last year’

The continuing growth of renewable energy means we are used to seeing new records being set – and reported in Energy World – for power generation from renewables. But recent acceleration within the industry means that new records are coming thick-and-fast. The latest, first reported by Carbon Brief, is that 2017 was the first year in which more than half of the electricity generated in the UK came from low carbon sources, renewables plus nuclear.

Put another way, nuclear and renewables generated more electricity in 2017 than all fossil fuels combined. Within this total, wind generated more than twice as much electricity as coal, supplying more power in every month except January, says Carbon Brief.

The UK electricity sector passed several other milestones in 2017, from its first coal-free day since 1882 to new records for wind and solar generation. Nevertheless, power sector emissions remain far above what will be needed to meet UK carbon targets, while progress in decarbonising the rest of the economy is limited, adds the UK-based website.

The rise of low carbon electricity supplies has been rapid, primarily driven by subsidies for renewables, says Carbon Brief, while at the same time, electricity demand has been falling steadily, down 1.7% last year. Fossil fuels supplied 48% of generation in 2017, down from 75% in 2010 and the majority of today’s fossil supply is from gas; coal generation has plummeted over the past five years. Rapid cost declines for renewables mean that subsidy-free deployment might become possible, even if long-term contracts might still be needed.

Over the past year, the largest increase in generation from a single source was wind, which was up 31% to 49 TWh in 2017. The was due to both generating capacity increasing by a fifth, but also due to more favourable wind speeds.

However, nuclear remains the single largest source of low carbon electricity in the UK – and the second largest source overall. It generated 70 TWh in 2017, a figure virtually unchanged since the early 2000s, when a number of old reactors were closed down, says Carbon Brief.

Other renewables also generated more in 2017 than in 2016. Solar rose 11%, due to rising capacity, while biomass increased by 4%.

Notably, adds Carbon Brief, coal generation fell by a further 25% in 2017 to 23 TWh, and gas generation also fell, down 7% to 134 TWh, well below its 175 TWh output in 2010. Nevertheless, gas was the single largest fuel by far, supplying some 40% of generation in 2017.