At their peak on Easter Monday, zero-carbon sources made up 80 percent of the UK’s energy mix, as Britain's energy transformation to clean energy continues apace.
The British electricity grid was the greenest it has ever been on Easter Monday, with 80 percent of energy coming from zero-carbon energy sources at their peak. Low demand driven by the Easter holiday, coupled with sunny and blustery conditions, helped renewable energy sources dominate the energy mix over the weekend.
At 1pm on Monday, wind power made up 39 percent of the electricity mix, solar power 21 percent, and nuclear 16 percent - meaning zero carbon power sources made up almost 80 percent of the nation’s power.
Just 10 percent of power was coming from gas plants, with the remainder coming from other sources such as imports and biomass. There was no coal generation on the grid at all on Monday.
The effectiveness of green energy sources helped reduce levels of carbon dioxide produced per unit of electricity consumed to just 39 grams - the lowest ever recorded, according to the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO).
The last year has seen a plethora of records for green energy in the UK. In addition to the longest ever run without coal as part of the country’s energy mix between April 10 and June 16 last year, the UK shattered its records for the highest ever levels of wind and solar generation.
Coal generated only 1.6 percent of the electricity mix in 2020, compared with almost 25 percent five years ago.