According to the National Grid Electricity Operator (ESO), Easter Monday 5th April 2021 consisted of around 80% of its energy coming from zero-carbon sources.
At around 1pm on Monday, the electricity mix was made up of:
Wind Power: 39%
Solar Power: 21%
Nuclear: 16%
This means that energy efficient zero carbon power sources made up for just under 80% of the nation’s power. The remaining percentage was a contribution of power coming from imports, biomass, and gas plants. However, no electricity was generated by coal power sources all day on Easter Monday.
More eco-friendly energy sources have been on the rise in recent years. In 2020, coal contributed to 1.6% of the electricity mix. Whereas, five years ago it was 25%.
Below, are the number of hours per year that the country was powered coal-free.
2020 = 5,147 hours
2019 = 3,666 hours
2018 = 1,856 hours
2017 = 624 hours
Not only that, but in the last 18 months the record for the highest ever level of wind generation was broken on 13th February 2021 (17.5GW), whilst in August last year we saw wind contributing its highest ever share to the electricity mix (59.9%).
Furthermore, solar power set new records for its highest ever level of generation (9.7GW) and its highest share in the mix (34%), providing a third of Britain’s electricity supplies on numerous occasions in May 2020.
Live data on Britain’s electricity generation mix and new records can be found on the free National Grid ESO carbon intensity app, available on Google Play Store and The App Store.