For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the UK is being supplied with more power from zero-carbon sources than fossil fuels. This milestone has been achieved during the first five months of 2019.
Namely, as UK’s National Grid says, clean energy is responsible for 48% of generation, in comparison to 47% from coal and gas, while the rest is biomass. As BBC noted, this transformation is indicative of the decline of coal energy, and am increase from wind and solar.
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What is more, during the last 10 years, coal generation has fallen from 30% to 3%, while on the other hand, wind power has went up from 1% to 19%. In addition, in May the UK recorded its first coal-free fortnight and provided record levels of solar power for two days in a row.
The change is led by the necessity to limit GHG emissions, with electricity being the easiest place to start. In fact, in the future, more energy storage will be necessary, as the share of wind and solar energy will further rise. Nevertheless, there is great uncertainty regarding low-carbon energy.
However, energy analyst Tom Burke from e3g told BBC News that this landmark was achieved by technology, explaining that technical problems of dealing with climate change have been addressed.
He continued saying that the problems now are political, as decarbonization could lead to loss of jobs in fossil fuel industries. but also created in low-carbon industries.
UK is planning a White Paper on energy, which is expected soon.
