Q4 2023: Capacity and production statistics
Download PDF
Wind power had a record-breaking quarter, producing more than 25 TWh of electricity over the last three months of 2023. This made it the largest source of electricity over the quarter, supplying more than a third of the country’s demand.
In contrast, gas fell to its lowest share since 2015, squeezed out by more imports and less exports (so less need for power supply), and more generation from biomass and wind. Gas-fired electricity production was down by 24% compared to the same quarter the previous year.
Coal bucked its annual downwards trend, producing one-third more in Quarter 4 compared to the year before. The country’s last coal plant ran almost continuously since summer, a far cry from the start of this decade which saw whole months with zero coal output.
Britain’s electricity supply mix in the fourth quarter of 2023
Daily average electricity production from coal through 2023
Installed capacity and electricity produced by each technology [1] [2]
[1] Other sources give different values because of the types of plant they consider. For example, BEIS Energy Trends records an additional 0.7 GW of hydro, 0.6 GW of biomass and 3 GW of waste-to-energy plants. These plants and their output are not visible to the electricity transmission system and so cannot be reported on here.
[2] We include an estimate of the installed capacity of smaller storage devices which are not monitored by the electricity market operator.