Imperial College London recently announced that wind power has produced more electricity in Britain than nuclear energy during January to March 2018. The news was given in the 7th Electric Insights Report. These reports are produced each quarter by Dr. Iain Staffell of the Center for Environmental Policy. The latest analysis found that 18.8% of the UK’s wind power over the first quarter of 2018 came from the wind farms.
The analysis said that the wind farms supplied 47.3% of the demand in the country. The wind peaked at more than 14 GW of electricity and gave more power than nuclear. Despite being a good news, wind can still not be the dominant power source of the country. Gas was providing the largest amount of the country’s electricity at 39.4% and nuclear produced 18.76%. On 17th March, the wind produced 47% of the power and set the second record. Staffell said in a statement, “It is reassuring to see renewables providing more of the country’s power particularly over the winter. This was also happening while Britain’s energy system was being tested by the ‘Beast from the East’ so renewables are continuing to prove themselves as a dependable part of our electricity mix.”
In addition, nuclear power also had some setbacks during the first three months of the current year. Two plant reactors were temporarily shut down for maintenance issues and another was shut down due to seaweed clogs. Staffell said, “For me, the report shows just how complex our interconnected energy system is. There are critical questions about resilience and security of supply.” The report also found that the wind was the largest source of electricity in the country after gas. The new wind power generation aims to bring carbon emissions to 7%. Fingers crossed for a green energy future!
