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Low carbon power in the third quarter of 2014 climbed to 38.6 per cent of the generation mix due to the rising output of renewable energy, according government data.
The latest statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that despite heavy output losses from the UK’s nuclear fleet the increase in renewable energy from wind, solar and bioenergy sources bolstered low-carbon output.
A string of unplanned outages and safety concerns among EDF Energy’s nuclear plants saw nuclear output in Q3 2014 fall 16 per cent from the same quarter in 2013 to just 20.8 per cent of the mix.
The losses were offset by a 24 per cent increase in generation by renewables, with bioenergy up 31 per cent, the government said.
In addition gas-fired power generation usurped coal-burn as the dominant fossil fuel within the energy mix due to historically low gas costs over the period.
Gas generation accounted for its highest Q3 generation share for the past three years at 38.6 per cent while coal-fired power was lower at 20.1 per cent.
Prior to the publication of the data Icis’ head of power Zoe Double told Utility Week that “the lower cost of gas relative to power led to a higher return for [gas-fired power] volumes allowing greater use of gas-fired power in the energy mix.”
“For the first time in years generators opted to switch from cheap coal-fired power to gas generation over the summer,” she added.
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