UK goes eight days without coal-generated power

The record for the longest period during which we manged without using coal to generate electricity which was set over Easter this year has already been smashed. Britain went a record eight days to yesterday without using coal to generate power. The government's action on the environment through  reforms and investment continue to break records – making sure we leave our planet in a better state for the next generation.

Key facts: 
  • The UK has just managed for over a week without using coal to generate electricity  for the first time since the industrial revolution. 
  • This year we’ve already reached the major milestone of 1,000 hours without using coal to power our homes and industry. 
  • Last year renewables generated a record amount of electricity, generating 37.1 per cent of the UK’s electricity in 2018 Q4, up from 6.1 per cent in 2010. 

Why this matters: 

We’re closing in on the target of phasing out coal entirely from our power system by 2025 as Britain's renewable sector goes from strength to strength and we aim to become the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions.

It is a good thing that young people are aware of the threats to our environment and their future and that they are taking action to campaign for a cleaner world. But anyone, whether they are sixteen or sixty, who tells you that Britain is not already taking major strides towards reducing pollution is misinformed.

Comments

Anonymous said…
How much coal was burnt in power stations in those 8 days?
11:14 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
I have not been able to discover the answer to that question.

To read the press reports you would imagine that the answer was zero, though I have not seen that confirmed. You may note that I was very careful to qualify the words I used in the post.

But you can bet they will have burned a lot less coal than would have been used if they were generating power.
11:22 pm
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