Britain sees new record for coal-free power generation

Britain’s nationwide lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic has seen the country use around 20 per cent less energy than normal.

As a result, Great Britain has set a new record for how long the country has gone without using a single watt of energy produced from coal.

At 6:10am BST this morning, the country surpassed its previous record of 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes.

The coal free run is currently still going, with National Grid ESO saying it does not expect to bring any coal generation on to the system on Tuesday.

The drop in demand as millions of Britons stay indoors has coincided with a fortnight of good weather, seeing energy consumption drop dramatically.

Great Britain has set a new record for how long the country has gone without using a single watt of energy produced from coal. As of 6:10am BST this morning, the country surpassed its previous record of 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes

When the country broke the record, it marked more than 438 hours and 10 minutes since the last coal generator came off the system at midnight on Thursday, April 9.

The measures to shut down the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus have seen an increase in domestic consumption as people stay home.

However, this has been more than counterbalanced by reduced industrial demand.

Renewable sources of energy have also soared during the good weather, with solar farms capitalising on the recent sunshine.

Almost ten gigawatts (9.68 gigawatts) of power was produced from solar panels at 1.30pm Monday, April 20, a new record.

This comes as the Met Office announces April 2020 is already the sunniest April on record.

In a tweet, the Met office said: ‘New provisional information suggests that #April 2020 is now the #sunniest on record.

‘212.5 hours of sunshine have been recorded so far, with the previous record being 211.9 hours in 2015.’

Analysis by energy and climate website Carbon Brief found during the last 18 days, renewables have been the largest source of electricity, producing 37 per cent of Britain’s power.

Just under a third (32 per cent) has come from gas, 22 per cent from nuclear and around nine per cent has been imported from France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

That compares to 2012, when more than two-fifths (43 per cent) of power over the year was coming from coal, 26 per cent from gas and just seven per cent from renewables.

In April 2020 to date, power demand has been almost a fifth lower (18 per cent) than it was in the same period last year.

With factories, shops, schools and offices shut down across Britain, the National Grid said earlier this month may have to issue emergency orders to switch off power plants and wind farms this summer.

It revealed the lack of demand for energy amid the coronavirus pandemic threatens to leave Britain’s networks overwhelmed by too much electricity.

As a result of the curtailed energy production, carbon dioxide emissions are down more than a third (34 per cent) compared to the same period last year.

They are down more than half (51 per cent) on the five-year average, Carbon Brief said.

Fintan Slye, director of ESO, said: ‘2020 is shaping up to be a record-breaking year for Great Britain’s electricity system, and I’ve little doubt we’ll see more exciting developments as the growth and performance of renewables continues to transform our grid at an astonishing rate.

‘Within a matter of days we’ve seen a new solar generation record, and the longest period of coal-free operation in Britain.’

Renewable sources of energy have also soared during the good weather, with solar farms capitalising on the recent good weather. Almost ten gigawatts (9.68 gigawatts) of power was produced from solar panels at 1.30pm Monday, April 20, a new record

Almost ten gigawatts (9.68 gigawatts) of power was produced from solar panels at 1.30pm Monday, April 20, a new record. This comes as the Met Office announces April is already the sunniest April ever. In a tweet, the met office said: ‘New provisional information suggests that #April 2020 is now the #sunniest on record’

Londoners use more electricity than others in lockdown

Londoners are using a lot more extra energy during the lockdown than the rest of the country, according to new data.

Households in the capital have seen an approximately 40 per cent spike in their energy use, against a 27 per cent jump nationally, energy supplier Bulb revealed.

The figures suggest that Londoners are more prone to work from home, with extra computers and lightbulbs guzzling an additional 25 per cent more electricity in the capital during the hours formerly spent in the office.

It compares to a 17 per cent jump nationally, Bulb said.

Bulb co-founder Amit Gudka said: ‘The jump in electricity use is more pronounced in London – almost 10 per cent higher than the UK average, and even more so at lunch – which we would put down to a higher percentage of the working population living in the capital, leading to greater variation pre and post-lockdown.’

Earlier in the year, February became the greenest month on record for UK electricity generation, with the average amount of carbon pollution per kilowatt hour of power consumed falling to new lows.

He said milestones like the latest coal-free run show Great Britain is leading the world in the shift to ‘net zero’, where greenhouse gas emissions are cut to zero overall.

Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate change at WWF-UK, said: ‘We urgently need to end the UK’s contribution to climate change, and this is an important milestone on our journey.

‘This is the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution – we have been burning fossil fuels longer than anybody else, and we have benefited hugely from it.

‘Now we are showing real climate leadership and breaking records for coal-free power, year on year, as we try to build a greener future.

‘Renewable energy sources now generate an incredible one-third of UK power, proving we can adapt to live without damaging the planet we call home. There is no room for coal in a net-zero future.’