The quarter’s headlines

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Britain’s power system keeps breaking records: this issue charts the continued rise of clean electricity and its benefits across the wider energy system. 

Renewables hit a new milestone by producing 25% of Britain’s electricity over the quarter; while all low-carbon sources together produced 55% (see Article 1).

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Renewables & low carbon hit new highs

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Clean electricity sources are once again breaking records in Britain. 

Renewables powered more than a quarter of demand between April and June, as shown in the figure below-left. Output from all low-carbon sources (including nuclear and imports from France) met 56% of demand over the quarter, a tenth higher than the previous high reported in our first issue.

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Reaching below 100 g/kWh

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Low-carbon is the new normal for Britain’s power system

Carbon intensity over the quarter averaged 199 g/kWh: 10% lower than the previous minimum set last year. For context, the carbon intensity averaged 740 g/kWh in the 1980s and 500 g/kWh in the 2000s.

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Electric cars get greener

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

The recent switch from coal to renewables means electric vehicles now create half the CO2 of the cleanest conventional and hybrid cars on the road. 

It is widely accepted that electric cars dramatically reduce air pollution in cities, but can they reduce overall CO2emissions when the electricity they use largely comes from fossil fuels? The lack of transparency around power systems has helped fuel the debate about how clean electric cars really are.

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Soaring solar power

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Solar power is reaching new heights in Britain, and having a growing influence on system operations. 

For eight hours over the quarter, solar power produced more power than all fossil fuels combined. It set two new records for instantaneous output: supplying 25% of demand on the 8th of April, and producing 8.91 GW on May 26th. Over the quarter, solar panels produced 4 TWh of electricity, 12% above the previous maximum set back in 2015.

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Bypassing the grid

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Britain is moving towards a decentralised power system as a tenth of June’s electricity did not use the national grid. 

Small renewables (particularly solar) make up a growing portion of electricity supply. These are embedded into local distribution networks rather than connected to the high-voltage transmission system. They can meet demand locally if output comes at a useful time, though they do not necessarily reduce the need to have those transmission wires available for other times. 

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Capacity and production statistics

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Output from renewables is up 25% on this quarter last year, while output from fossil fuels is down 16%.

Over the last 12 months, wind and solar accounted for 80% of new capacity installed.

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Live Grid Data