The UK power sector is on track to reach a “landmark tipping point,” according to National Grid, the country’s national grid operator, as it nears the point where non-fossil fuel sources generate more electricity than traditional fossil fuel-powered generation.
The UK Solar Trade Association announced twice this week that the country’s solar fleet broke the peak generation record set originally two years ago, highlighting the need for solar to be allowed to participate on a level playing field in the country’s energy mix.
The UK’s large-scale solar pipeline at the beginning of 2019 sat at nearly 3.5 gigawatts (GW) according to in-house research done by the team at Solar Media and headed up by solar industry expert Finlay Colville.
Renewable electricity is on track to overtake fossil fuels to become the dominant source of electricity generation in Britain by 2020 according to a new report from British power analysts EnAppSys.
Pushed over the line by two coal-to-biomass conversions and continuing growth in offshore wind, the British renewable energy industry finally surpassed the capacity levels of its fossil fuel predecessors, with total capacity reaching 42 gigawatts (GW) in the third quarter, beating out the fossil fuel industry which only has 40.6 GW.
As Autumn begins to finally gear up across the Northern Hemisphere, for those in Europe, the massive 2018 heatwave will disappear into forgotten memory for most, except for the region’s solar energy industry, which walks away with a handful of new records at the same time as other electricity generation technologies struggled.
Having spent years working in the renewable energy industry, especially in the UK South West, I witnessed first-hand the political and economic backlash against the industry. As is often the case, with the anti-renewables backlash, there is more going on than first meets the eye.
New figures from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy published on Thursday showed that renewable energy accounted for 30.1% of the country’s total electricity generation in the first quarter, up 3% and boasting record wind generation that accounted for over half of total renewable energy generation.
Provisional statistics from the UK Government have confirmed previous analyses that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions have reached levels not seen since 1890, thanks in part to the increase in electricity generation from wind and solar which together now account for the second largest source of electricity.
This week, Nissan announced “Nissan Energy Solar” at the Electric Ecosystem Experience powered by Nissan Intelligent Mobility. “Nissan Energy Solar is the all-in-one solution that combines world-class residential solar panels with energy storage system to make the most of UK homes. The solution has been designed to allow UK homeowners to reduce their energy bills and get more independence from the grid, allowing them to live more sustainably.”
