https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2016/09/coals-share-in-uk-electricity-generation-drops-to-six-per-cent/
[Who set the example others are now emulating? Ontario, which shut down
the last of its coal-fired generation early in 2014. But now Ontario is
against shifting to renewable energy? Even though the non-sustainable
source they are now betting the house on (nuclear fission) is more
expensive than current pricing for renewables (e.g., wind and solar).
Bizarre. Especially when the rest of the post-Fukushima world is moving
away from nuclear for a host of good reasons.]
Coal's share in UK electricity generation drops to six per cent
By Tereza Pultarova
Published Thursday, September 29, 2016
Only six per cent of electrical energy used in the UK this spring was
generated using polluting coal, data from the UK Department of Business
and Energy has revealed.
The spring of 2015, for comparison, saw 20 per cent of the electricity
demand being covered by energy from coal-fired power plants. The
decrease in coal-fired electricity generation is largely due to the
closures of multiple power plants, including Ferrybridge C in West
Yorkshire and Longannet coal-fired power station in Scotland. In
addition, a unit at Drax, North Yorkshire, has switched from coal to
biomass.
The majority of the drop in coal use was covered by gas-fired
electricity generation, which increased to 45 per cent from 30 per cent
last year. Surprisingly, the share of renewable electricity has also
decreased, albeit marginally. Renewables covered a little under 25 per
cent of the electricity demand in the period between April and June
2016. The drop has been attributed to lower wind speeds and rainfall,
which affected wind turbine output and hydropower.
Overall, 46 per cent of the electricity demand was covered by low carbon
sources of electricity such as renewables and nuclear. The decrease in
coal use is in line with the UK government’s policy to completely phase
out coal-fired electricity generation by 2025.
"As clean technology advances, Britain is bidding farewell to coal,"
commented Juliet Davenport, chief executive of renewable energy supplier
Good Energy. "The transition to a 100 per cent renewable future is
within Britain's grasp."
There were several moments this spring where the amount of electricity
generated by coal fell to zero for the first time since the 19th
century. Over the course of April, more power was generated from wind
than from coal and in May solar panels outstripped coal-fired power
stations to generate more electricity across the month than the fossil
fuel.
Official figures reveal that greenhouse gas emissions were down 1.3 per
cent in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the previous three
months, as a result of the large switch from coal to gas for electricity
in the spring.
Emissions for the year ending in the second quarter of 2016 were down
almost six per cent on the previous year, once the impact of warmer
temperatures was taken into account.
Data from Beis also reveals that by the end of August some 11 gigawatts
(GW) of solar panels had been installed across 886,523 schemes from
household arrays to huge solar farms. The figure was up 30 per cent on
August 2015, but installation of new capacity has largely stalled in the
wake of curbs on subsidies for the renewable power, the figures show.
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