Coal

Graph of the Day: Wind, solar produce new record in UK

Published by

A new record has been set in the UK, with clean energy providing 70 per cent of the country’s electricity demand on Wednesday afternoon, and each of wind, solar and nuclear power generating more  coal and gas combined.

The National Grid said the landmark was achieved for the first time at 1pm local time on Wednesday, and follows the first occasion of negative prices being reached a day earlier.

According to the National Grid, at 1pm, wind supplied 9.5 gigawatts, nuclear provided 8.2GW and  solar 7.3GW. Gas provided 7.2GW and there was no coal power at the time. The graph above, from Aurora Energy Research shows a slightly different time and total.

The combination of renewables alone reached a new record of 18.7 gigawatts at the same time, equivalent to 50.7 per cent of demand, the National Grid said.

 

Share
Published by
Tags: UK

Recent Posts

State’s stand-alone solar fail: The energy transition should deliver more than a new landlord

Western Power's stand-alone power system program is not an energy transition solution. It is a…

10 July 2026

Energy Insiders Podcast: Electric truck network starts to take shape

Electric trucks are suddenly big news in Australia. We catch up with NewVolt's Anthony Headlam…

10 July 2026

Watchdog warns spike in home battery complaints could damage consumer trust

Home batteries are flying off shelves and the consumer watchdog wants stronger protection to maintain…

10 July 2026

Offshore wind developers pray for bipartisan support ahead of key state election

Victoria's offshore wind developers are much more optimistic than they were a year ago, but…

10 July 2026

State utility bets on Australian-first compressed CO2 “energy dome,” with up to 12 hours of storage

Victoria's Latrobe Valley will soon host a ground-breaking long-duration energy storage facility capable of continuously…

10 July 2026

“It’s nuts:” Wind developer forced to truck giant transformer thousands of kilometres after port refusal

Renewable developer says the refusal of its closest port to handle a giant transformer has…

10 July 2026