424 hours without coal

Britain's record run, already well over two weeks, without the use of coal to generate electricity, continues.




Britain has now gone a record 424 hours (17 days 16 hours) – and counting – without coal-powered energy, as the Conservative government's reforms and investment ensure sure we leave our planet in a better state for the next generation.

Key facts
  • We have exceeded the eight-day record set earlier this month for the number of successive hours gone without using coal to generate power. 
  • This year we’ve already reached the major milestone of 1,000 hours without using coal to power our homes and industry. 
  • This goes alongside our steps to tackle climate change. 
  • 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 phasing out coal entirely from our power system by 2025 as our renewable sector goes from strength to strength – and the UK has now gone for the longest time in our country’s history without using coal.

Comments

Anonymous said…
How much gas was burnt to replace that coal?
Chris Whiteside said…
The percentage of electricity generated from gas in the last 18 days was 40%.

It is on an overall downward trend - the equivalent percentage over 2008 as a whole was 46% and it was 42% in 2014.

Electricity generation from gas produces much less pollution than generation from coal, so even if it had been entirely a switch from coal to gas that would still be cleaner, but actually there is a steady rise in the proportion of renewable energy.

Popular posts from this blog

Nick Herbert on his visit to flood hit areas of Cumbria

Quotes of the day 19th August 2020

Quote of the day 24th July 2020