In 2014 on- and off-shore wind generation made up 9.5 per cent of the UK’s power generation mix. But fresh records set for weekly, monthly and quarterly generation bolstered output to new record levels for the year.
Wind generation was particularly strong in the final months of 2015 with December setting a new monthly record at 17 per cent of the total mix – topping the previous monthly record of 14 per cent set in January of the same year.
December also saw the UK’s strongest weekly output for wind at 20 per cent of total power during the final week of the year when demand typically falls due to the festive holiday period.
The final quarter of 2015 saw 13 per cent of the UK’s demand met by wind power, topping the 12 per cent record set in the first quarter of the year.
Renewable UK director of policy Gordon Edge said that the “bumper harvest” shows “why the government should continue to support wind energy.”
“We’re delivering on our commitment to keep Britain powered up. We can continue to increase the proportion of the nation’s electricity which we provide as we move away from fossil fuels to clean sources of power,” he said.