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:
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.
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
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.