UK renewables beat fossil fuels over calendar year for first time in 2020

Renewable energy sources across the United Kingdom generated more electricity in 2020 than fossil fuels, a first for the country amidst a year which saw an unprecedented drop in energy demand due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

The UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) last week published its annual energy bible, the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), which details information on the UK’s   energy production, trade, and consumption.

Demand for energy across the UK in 2020 was down so dramatically that it resembled levels not seen since the 1950s.

The drop in energy demand was most keenly felt in the transport sector, unsurprisingly, considering the movement restrictions enacted across the country due to Covid-19.

Most importantly, though, were the electricity generation levels during 2020, which fell 3.6% compared to 2019 – again, as a result of the UK’s Covid-19 restrictions.

As electricity general fell, generation from renewable energy sources soared past fossil fuels for the first time, generating 43.1% of the UK’s electricity in 2020, up from 36.9% in 2019, as fossil fuel generation fell to provide only 37.7% of the country’s electricity in 2020.

Renewable sources generated 134.6TWh in 2020, a 12.6% increase over levels in 2019 and well up on the 117.8TWh generated by fossil fuel sources in 2020.

Electricity generation by fuel, 2000-2020

The increase in renewable energy generation was driven in large part by an increase in wind generation, which jumped by 18% compared to 2019, up to 75.4TWh – and therefore well over half of all renewable generation for 2020.

Wind energy’s increase was due to both favourable weather conditions as well as increased capacity, particularly for offshore wind, which generated 27% more electricity in 2020 than in 2019.

Offshore wind’s role was bolstered by the 700MW that came online through the East Anglia One offshore wind farm, which became fully operational in 2020.

Conversely, fossil fuel generation fell to a record low in 2020, down 15.9% to 117.8TWh. Almost all of this was gas with 111.4TWh in 2020 – a fall of 16% – there remained very little need for coal in the UK energy mix.

During 2020 there were several substantial periods with no coal-fired generation in Great Britain, including a record 67-day period between April and June.

Northern Ireland continues to operate a separate network where some coal generation continued, but only four coal-fired power stations remain in operation across the whole of the UK – with one in Northern Ireland and three in England, all of which are planned to be phased out by 2025.

Nuclear electricity generation similarly fell in 2020, down 11% to 50.3TWh, the lowest amount in over twenty years as all of the UK’s nuclear plants were on outage at times during the year.

“This is stellar news in the year that the UK is hosting the biggest international summit on climate change for years,” said Dan McGrail, CEO of RenewableUK, the UK’s leading renewable energy trade association.

“It shows that this country is playing a leading role in the global energy transition, with renewables becoming the dominant source of new power generation – outstripping fossil fuels for the first year ever and setting new record highs across the board.

“It’s another significant step on the road to net zero emissions, but we need to move even faster and decarbonise the power sector by 2035.

Today’s report by the Met Office warns that the UK is already undergoing disruptive climate change, so it’s vital that we take practical action at scale against the biggest threat that all of us face to our way of life.”