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This year will see zero-carbon energy sources overtake fossil fuels to generate more of Great Britain’s electricity for the first time since the industrial revolution, National Grid has forecast.
During the first five months of 2019 nearly 48 per cent of electricity generation came from zero-carbon sources – wind, solar, nuclear, hydro and storage – compared to almost 47 per cent from coal and gas. National Grid expects zero-carbon generation to remain on top over the full year.
“The incredible progress that Britain has made in the past ten years means we can now say 2019 will be the year net zero power beats fossil fuel fired generation for the first time,” said National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew.
“Having reached this landmark tipping point, the question is what are we doing today to get to net zero as quickly as possible?”
This year has already borne witness to several major milestones in the decarbonisation of the electricity system, including the first coal-free week since 1882, which was followed shortly afterwards by the first coal-free fortnight.
There will soon be only four operational coal power stations left in Great Britain after EDF and SSE announced plans to close their Cottam and Fiddler’s Ferry plants in September and March respectively.
The government has vowed to phase out all unabated coal generation by 2025 at which point the electricity system operator at National Grid is aiming to have the power grid ready for zero-carbon operation.
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