The share of power coming from fossil fuels hit the new low at lunchtime on Monday April 15 and lasted for an hour, climate and energy website Carbon Brief said.
Analysis of National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) data by Carbon Brief also shows there were 75 half-hour periods in 2024 so far when fossil fuels accounted for less than 5% of power demand.
In 2023, there were only 16 half-hour periods where coal and gas met less than 5% of demand, and just five in 2022, the analysis said.
As recently as 2018, fossil fuels never met less than 10% of demand in a half hour period for electricity in Britain.
The analysis shows fossil fuels’ share of electricity averaged over a day also fell to a record low, of 6.4%, earlier in the month, on April 5.
It would be very interesting to know why it’s not lower already. We’re often curtailing wind. Although partly this is due to not having enough connectors from Scotland to England I think it is also in order never to shut gas completely off. I know that spinning generators help regulate the grid frequency and are used if the grid needs restarting, but isn’t there enough nuclear for that?