Fossil fuel generation of UK electricity hits all-time low

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In 2023, there were only 16 half-hour periods where coal and gas provided less than five per cent of electricity.
In 2023, there were only 16 half-hour periods where coal and gas provided less than five per cent of electricity.

Fossil fuels have provided the lowest amount of UK electricity for a one-hour time period on record.

Energy think tank Carbon Tracker today said that on Monday, April 15th, just 2.4 per cent of UK electricity came from fossil fuel sources.

Throughout the whole of last year, there were only 16 half-hour periods where coal and gas provided less than five per cent of electricity and just five periods in 2022.

For 2024 so far, however, there have been 75 half-hour periods where this criteria has been met.

Just six years ago, there were no instances of coal and gas providing less than 10 per cent of the electricity mix.

The National Grid’s Electricity Systems Operator’s (ESO) director of system operations Craig Dyke said getting to the 2025 target was a “significant engineering challenge”, but the operator was confident it would be able to hit the “world-leading” goal.

National Grid tracking website iamkate shows that over the last week, 45 per cent of UK electricity has come from a combination of wind power and nuclear generation.

The UK is in the process of phasing out its existing coal plants in favour of wind and solar power, with the last remaining plant, in Nottingham, scheduled to close before the end of September.

Indeed, over the past year, fossil fuels, which includes gas generation, made up 32 per cent of generation with 38 per cent deriving from renewable sources and 20 per cent from other sources such as hydro.

However, Carbon Tracker’s research shows that there have been half-hour periods within the last four months where coal and gas have accounted for 66 per cent of generation when the sun hasn’t shone and the wind hasn’t blown.

The majority of this has come from gas, which the UK government has said will be a crucial cornerstone to supporting the country’s journey to net zero power.

This stance has been criticised by industry figures, who see the drive to build new gas-fired power stations under the guise of supporting net zero ambitions as “concessions to the gas lobby”.