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More than one-third of electricity in Great Britain was powered by wind over the past week, data collected by Aurora Energy Research has revealed.
In total 35.6 per cent of electricity was provided by wind over the period 8-14 March.
This is compared to 31.2 per cent by gas, 21.3 per cent by nuclear, 6.7 per cent by biomass, 2.6 per cent by coal, 1.8 per cent by hydro and 0.8 per cent by other sources.
Offshore wind alone generated 21.4 per cent of electricity last week – more than nuclear.
Responding to the news Emma Pinchbeck, deputy chief executive of Renewable UK, said: “We’ve had a very blustery week, and that’s good news because wind has outstripped every other power source.
“It’s further proof that wind is playing a central role in keeping Britain powered up at a chilly time of the year.
“It’s also interesting to see that offshore wind outperformed nuclear this week – showing the way our modern energy mix is changing, with low-cost wind energy becoming the backbone of our clean energy system.”
She added: “This comes just after last week’s announcement of the offshore wind sector deal, which will see our industry grow to support 27,000 highly-skilled jobs by 2030, and the UK’s offshore wind supply chain generating billions every year in exports, as well as providing more goods and services for offshore wind projects in UK waters.”
The offshore wind sector deal was unveiled on 7 March.
Under the terms of the deal offshore wind will provide a third of the UK’s electricity needs by 2030.
This would entail nearly quadrupling the UK’s offshore wind generation capacity from its existing level 7.9GW now to at least 30GW by the end of the next decade.
Fresh tracts of the UK seabed are due to be released later this year by the Crown Estate to accommodate the new windfarms.
The offshore wind sector deal also includes a commitment to increase in the sector’s target for the amount of UK content in homegrown offshore wind projects to 60 per cent.
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