UK renewables out-generate fossil fuels for an entire quarter

Enlarge / Components of an offshore windfarm await transport in Billingham, England. (credit: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

The third quarter of 2019 saw the UK's renewable generation pass that of fossil fuels for the first time, according to an analysis by the climate and energy policy group CarbonBrief. The shift is driven by the completion of several enormous offshore windfarms and has been accompanied by a near-elimination of coal on the UK grid. And it comes only four years after the very first day in which renewables outpaced fossil fuels.

Vanishing coal

CarbonBrief performs regular analyses of the UK electrical market based largely on government figures but also incorporating off-grid sources like combined heat and power facilities. In general, its results have been within 3% of the final quarterly figures for the last several years, but the numbers for 2019 are close enough that it remains possible that the first quarterly landmark will have to wait until 2020.

That said, the organization estimates that renewables produced 29.5 TeraWatt-hours in July, August, and September, while fossil fuels only produced 29.1 TW-hr. The news for carbon emissions is even better, as the UK is well on its way toward its goal of eliminating coal-fired generation—almost all of the fossil fuel generation was in the form of natural gas, which has relatively low emissions. The report estimates that less than 1% of the UK's electricity came from coal during the quarter.