Q3 2017 report

by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

This quarter’s issue looks at how Britain’s power system decarbonisation compares globally, and how it can be taken further. 

We unveil the international league table for low carbon electricity in Article 1, which charts the carbon intensity of electricity production across 33 countries. In the last four years, Britain 
has jumped 13 places to have the 7th cleanest major power system. 

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by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

In its first year, Electric Insights charted the rapid changes that are cleaning up Britain’s power system. But how does Britain’s power sector compare to other major countries? 

Carbon emissions from electricity halved in the last four years thanks to the growth of renewable energy, and the switch from coal to gas driven by the UK’s carbon price. But how does Britain’s power sector compare to other major countries? 

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by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

The world’s first low-carbon electricity forecast enables people to use power when it is cleanest. 

In September, National Grid in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund Europe and WWF launched the carbon intensity forecast, a website that estimates the CO₂ emissions from consuming electricity over the coming 48 hours. 

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by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Imports of electricity into Britain are at record highs: 9% of the electricity we used in July and August was generated overseas. 

Debates around energy imports normally focus on oil from the Middle East or gas from Russia¹; however, electricity from Europe is becoming ever more significant. In Q3, Britain sourced 5.6 TWh of electricity from abroad, enough to power 7.2 million homes. 60% of this came from France, 30% from the Netherlands and 10% from the island of Ireland. 

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by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Electricity imports grow ever more important, yet several questions hang over the future of Britain’s interconnectors: not least the impacts of Brexit. 

The UK is part of Europe’s internal energy market (IEM) which allows prices to determine how power flows between countries. This future is unclear as participation is based on membership of the European single market, and no specific trade rules have been announced for the post-Brexit energy sector.¹ 

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by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

Coal generation remained historically low with just a 1.9% share of generation over the summer. 

Between April and August Britain’s 14 GW of coal stations produced just 0.6 GW on average. This rose to 1.4 GW in September as demand started rising, suggesting that coal is now practically a winter-only fuel used to meet peak demand. 

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by Dr Iain Staffell – Imperial College London 

It was an uneventful three months for Britain’s power system, looking very similar to Quarter 2. 

Low carbon sources continued to supply more electricity than fossil fuels, generating 33.5 TWh over the quarter, compared to 30 TWh from gas and coal. Coal formed less than 3% of generation over the quarter. 4 in 5 days saw more output from wind than coal, more from solar than coal, and more from biomass than coal. 
The share of low-carbon generation reached a new high of 55.0%, slightly up from 54.7% in Quarter 2. Output from all renewable sources was up on last year, with wind and biomass both increasing by over 30%. 

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