Clean Technica | By: Joshua S Hill | June 30th, 2017:
Renewable energy sources generated more than a quarter of the UK’s electricity in the first quarter of this year, with onshore wind setting a record high of 8.3%, helping to further dismantle the UK’s reliance upon coal energy.
In total, renewable energy accounted for 26.6% of the UK’s electricity generation in the first quarter, up from 25.6% in the same quarter a year ago, thanks primarily to increases in wind and solar generation. And while this is good news, it was still 0.2% lower than renewable energy’s record high of 26.8% in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The big winner this past quarter was onshore wind, which increased the amount of electricity it contributed by 20%, up from 6.4 TWh in 2016 Q1 to 7.7 TWh. Offshore wind fell by 2.7% to 5.0 TWh.
Meanwhile, solar PV generation increased by a respectable 16% to 1.7 TWh, and hydro-generation fell by 15% down to 1.8 TWh.
All in all, the UK’s renewable electricity capacity by the end of this year’s first quarter reached 36.9 GW, up 12% on the same time a year earlier and up 3.3% on the previous fourth quarter.
Solar PV accounted for one-third of all renewable capacity, at 12.2 GW, followed by onshore wind which made up 32%, bioenergy with 16%, and offshore wind with 15%.
“Renewable energy is a mainstream technology, which is cheaper and more advanced than ever,” said RenewableUK’s Executive Director, Emma Pinchbeck. “Our innovative industries have matured to the point where we now reliably provide over 25% of the UK with clean, sustainable power. It’s great to see that onshore wind has set a new record, producing more electricity than ever at a time of year when we need it most.”
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