Rise Of Renewables Pushing Down UK Energy Sector Emissions

Image: UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

The UK is continuing to break renewable energy records and making headway on carbon emissions reduction, while coal power is laying bleeding in the gutter.

A report released last Thursday by Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy shows gas accounted for 39.7 per cent of electricity generation in the UK in 2017 and renewables 29.4%, followed by nuclear at 20.9 percent. Coal power accounted for just  6.7 per cent.

Renewable electricity generation reached 98.9 terawatt-hours ( TWh) last year, a record high and up nearly 20% on 2016, largely thanks to higher wind speeds.

The report states the UK’s renewable energy capacity reached 40.5 GW at the end of 2017, a 13.3 per cent increase (4.8 GW) on 2016.

Commenting on the report (PDF), RewableUK notes wind power generated a record 15% of the UK’s entire electricity demand in 2017.

“The move to a smart, renewables-led energy system is well underway,” said RenewableUK’s Executive Director Emma Pinchbeck. “The cost of new offshore wind halved in 2017 and onshore wind is already the cheapest of any new power source in the UK.”

While the UK is also an importer of electricity and imports in 2017 were 0.9 per cent higher than in 2017, electricity exports rose by 4.4 per cent.

Coal’s Last Coughs

Coal’s 6.7% share in 2017 is a far cry from just a few years ago, when the fossil fuel was generating more than 40% of the UK’s electricity.

On the mining front, coal production in the UK last year was 27 per cent lower than in 2016, due to a number of mines not operating due to restoration works and others producing less as they are nearing the end of their production lives.

On a related note, the UK’s net emissions of carbon dioxide in 2017 were provisionally estimated (PDF) to be 366.9 million tonnes (Mt), a 3.2 per cent decrease on 2016. The decrease was mainly attributable to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions in the energy supply sector, which were down 7.6%. Emissions from the energy supply sector were estimated to be down 57% on 1990.

UK Solar Power Statistics

While wind power may be the star player on the UK renewables scene, solar energy capacity is also creeping up.

Separate figures (Excel) also released late last week in relation to solar PV indicate capacity currently stands at approximately 12,713 MW across 942,247 installations by the end of February this year. This represented an increase of 6.5% over February 2017. At this stage, 2,368 solar power installations occurred during February, representing 8.2MW of capacity.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy stresses the figures for February are “highly provisional” and are likely to be revised upwards as it receives additional installation information.

45% (5,776 MW) of the UK’s total installed solar PV capacity comprised large scale installations with a capacity greater than 5 MW at the end of last year, with 20% (2,540 MW) attributable to small-scale solar power systems up to 4 kW capacity.

As a part of creating clean, green electricity, solar energy is also helping to clean up the mess coal mining has left behind in the UK.