The entire electricity needs of the UK back in 1958 would have been fully met by the renewable energy it produced last year, according to new statistics.
While the UK can’t go back in time – as it seems pretty keen on doing these days, the statistics produced by researchers at Imperial College London – in collaboration with Drax – show the 96 TWh of renewable electricity generated in 2017 would have covered the 91 TWh of electricity needed 60 years ago.
The Electric Insights report also reveals that around half of Britain’s electricity came from low-carbon sources last year, with wind energy the biggest single renewable contributor – producing 15% of electricity, up 50% on 2016. The overall energy mix resulted in a fall of 12% in the UK’s carbon emissions from electricity consumption in 2017.
Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said: “This report shows the great progress we have made in terms of decarbonising the energy sector. We can expect more days without coal on the system as we gear up to the UK coming off coal in 2025.”
