Over 50% of UK’s electricity generated from renewable sources
For the first time ever energy from renewables has provided over half the UK’s energy. At lunchtime on Wednesday the 7 June Drax’s Electricity Insights website indicated that electricity generated from renewable sources, including wind, solar, hydro and wood pellet burning was supplying 50.7% of the country’s demand. Later in the afternoon, with nuclear included, low carbon sources were producing 72.1% of the UK’s electricity. The website used data from the National Grid and Elexon.
Energy storage, however, accounted for less than 1% of demand during the lunchtime period. The surge in available electricity, particularly from renewable sources, caused electricity prices to become negative during the early hours of the 7th of June, with reports that the National Grid were paying major users to boost their electricity usage in order to maintain balance across the system.
The National Grid tweeted saying that “For the first time ever this lunchtime wind, nuclear and solar were all generating more than both gas and coal combined.”
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