Britain has now gone two months without generating electricity from coal. The last generator was taken off line at midnight local time on April 9. The previous record of 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes was set in June last year.
So far this year, renewables have generated more than coal or gas. Renewables have generated 37%, fossil fuels 35% and nuclear around 18% with the rest comprised of imports. It is probable a lot of that is nuclear generated as the main interconnectors are with France which has a large nuclear sector. In addition, one of the main wholesaler/retailer in the UK is EDF, the French state owned Électricité de France.
The big success story is offshore wind. Seven of the ten largest offshore wind farms are in British waters. A decade ago wind provided 2% of the total. The huge expansion has helped regenerate towns like Hull where Siemens produce turbine blades. One featured as an art installation when Hull was UK City of Culture in 2017.
Obviously the coronavirus crisis has help achieve the reduction in fossil fuel consumption but all the remaining coal fired stations will close by 2025. Note that Northern Ireland shares a grid with the Republic and is not included in these numbers
