Wind power record tipped as first of many

Wind power will outstrip gas every winter from now onwards, a leading academic has predicted.

It comes after wind provided the largest share of power generation in the first three months of 2023, outpacing gas for the first time in any quarter.

In total almost a third (32.4%) of Britain’s electricity was supplied from wind, compared to the 31.7% delivered by gas, according to new data released by Drax Electric Insights.

In Q1 2023 wind generated 24TWh of electricity, with output 3% higher than during the same quarter in 2022, while gas was down by 5%.

Drax said renewable sources were responsible for almost 42% of Britain’s electricity in Q1, fossil fuels supplied 33%, with the rest coming from foreign imports and the country’s nuclear fleet.

The findings have been released ahead of the latest quarterly Drax Electric Insights report, an independent report by academics from Imperial College London commissioned through Imperial Consultants.

Speaking to Utility Week Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, lead author of the quarterly report series, said he believed that the milestone was a sign of things to come.

He said: “Given that we’ve got the largest offshore windfarm in the world being constructed in the form of Dogger Bank and there’s plenty of other offshore windfarms in the pipeline, because the capacity of wind is going up so much, I could imagine we will see this being broken possibly every winter quarter going forward.

“I wouldn’t want to put a probability on it but if I was a gambling man I would say more likely than not from here on out.”

Bruce Heppenstall, Drax Power Station plant director, said: “This is a remarkable achievement for the UK, and it comes at a vital time when cutting the use of foreign gas is critical to our national energy security.

“Throughout the energy crisis, biomass has also played a crucial role in providing the country with a reliable source of renewable power to displace fossil fuels from abroad.”