Introduction

Wind power became Britain’s largest source of electricity in 2024. Generation from fossil fuels collapsed, with the country’s last coal power station now shut, and gas output down 16% from 2023. These reductions allowed carbon emissions from electricity generation to fall by 15%, continuing its trend over the past decade.

With more wind comes more intermittency. This winter saw two major ‘dunkelflaute’ events – periods of cold, calm weather. These brought high demand and low wind output, putting the power system under stress. Britain was not alone: these events spanned across Europe, with Germany seeing its highest power prices in 18 years as the wind vanished in December. The wind shortfalls in Britain exposed our heavy reliance on gas as the prime source of flexibility, with impacts on power prices, energy security and emissions.

New government statistics showed the UK has the most expensive electricity in Europe, not the league table we wish to be topping. Natural gas prices rose 50% between February and December 2024, pushing power prices up with them. But when put in the wider context, the price rises seen in Britain are middle of the pack compared to Europe, and fell 23% in 2024 compared to 2023.

Britain’s electricity demand grew at its fastest rate in over a decade. Electric vehicles and heat pumps are major new sources of demand, but the data centres which sit behind the scenes powering the internet are also set to be major contributors. The Government intends the UK to become a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI), which not only requires skills and investment, but also power. The chips and servers which power AI chatbots are hungry for electricity, and could expand 20-fold by the end of this decade.

Electricity generation from wind and gas.

Power sector carbon emissions.

Wholesale electricity prices.

Britain’s electricity demand.