Wind and solar on the up as National Grid hails greenest summer ever

(Credit: National Grid)

From 21 June to 22 September, almost 52 per cent of electricity generation was met by low carbon sources, including solar, wind and nuclear. In comparison, the same period in 2013 saw just 35 per cent of energy needs coming from low carbon generation. June 7 also became the first day when over half of the UK’s energy came from renewables.

“It’s been an exciting year managing the many ‘network firsts’ - from a day where we operated the system with zero coal power, to one where over half of Great Britain’s energy demand was met by renewable generation,” said Duncan Burt, director of the System Operator at National Grid.

Growth in offshore and onshore wind has contributed significantly to the share of green generation. This week, ScottishPower Renewables announced that it has now installed over 2000MW of wind power across the UK, with eight new onshore wind farms coming online as part of a recent £650m investment programme.