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Coal-fired power share falls as low carbon increases its stake in the mix

Coal-fired power generation in the second quarter of this year fell compared to the same time in 2013 as nuclear power and renewable energy increased their share of the generation mix, government data shows.

The latest report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change shows that last year Q2 saw 34.5 per cent of its power come from coal-fired sources, but that this year the levels fell to just 28.2 per cent.

At the same time nuclear power output grew from 18.4 per cent to 22.2 per cent of the total generation mix while renewables increased their share from 15.9 per cent in Q2 2013 to 16.8 per cent in the same quarter this year.

“Low carbon generation accounted for 39.0 per cent of generation in Q2 2014, a 4.7 percentage point increase from the same period last year,” the report said.

Although renewable energy increased its share of the generation mix, the outright output fell 1 per cent to 13.2 TWh year-on-year due to low wind speeds, the government said.

In addition, overall electricity production was 6.2 per cent lower in Q2 2014 than the year before, the data showed.