The contribution of renewables to electricity generation hit a new record peak in the second quarter of this year as solar power picked up the slack resulting from the summer “wind drought”, new official statistics show.
The Department of Business, Energy and industrial Strategy’s latest “Energy Trends”, which covers the period from April to June 2018, shows that the total electricity generated decreased by 0.7 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2017.
The drop in total demand to 82.0 TWh was largely driven by reduced domestic consumption. However on a temperature adjusted basis, final energy consumption rose by 0.3 per cent with a fall in the domestic sector, offset by rises in the industrial and transport sectors.
Renewables’ share of this total generation increased from 30.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 to a record 31.7 per cent in the same period this year.
Wind and solar PV generation increased by 0.3 per cent to 14.9 TWh.
An increase in solar generation resulted from a 10.9 per cent increase in average daily sun hours to nearly seven per day- the highest level recorded since 2011.
Wind generation increased by just 0.1 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2017 as a 15.8 per cent increase in capacity was offset by very low wind speeds. National Grid said in the summer that low wind speeds in June and July had cut the amount of power generated by this form of renewable energy.
Meanwhile hydro generation decreased by 4.5 per cent due to the lowest recorded level of rainfall since 2010.
Overall generation from total low carbon sources fell 0.3 points to 53.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.
This was the result of a drop in nuclear generation to 21.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2018 compared to 23.1 per cent in the same period of 2017 due to outages at a number of large reactors.
The ongoing slide in coal’s share of generation continued, decreasing from 2 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 to a new record low of 1.6 per cent in the same period this year. Gas remained the dominant fuel type with its share of generation increasing to 42 per cent.
However the Renewable Energy Association (REA) highlighted new figures, also published yesterday (27 September) by the government, which show that only 21MW of solar PVs were installed in July and August this year.
While hailing the overall increase in renewable electricity generation, REA policy and external affairs director James Court expressed disappointment at the low level of solar installations.
He said: “The record renewable power generation is a significant achievement for the industry. Renewables have never been more affordable and accessible as they are now and this is reflected in the data released today.
“However, for renewables to continue to become more affordable and for the UK to grow its green jobs base, the government must continue to support the industry. Figures show that the lack of support is already having a significant impact on solar power for example which is currently the cheapest option for new power generation.
“Government must introduce alternative support and unlock a route to market if the UK is to benefit from cheaper, greener and smarter energy.”
Commenting on “Energy Trends”, Energy UK’s chief executive Lawrence Slade, said: “The energy sector has made huge advances in decarbonising with renewable generation at a record high and coal at a record low for the quarter; these latest figures from government show how the UK’s energy mix is changing and the significant role low carbon generation now plays.”
However to maintain progress on decarbonising the power system while keeping costs to consumers low, he said it was important to stop excluding the lowest cost technologies from the energy mix.