Great Britain generated a record 23,825 megawatts of wind power on 5 December, providing 47% of the country’s electricity at 5:30 p.m., the National Energy System Operator (NESO) said on Thursday.
The new peak surpassed the previous maximum of 22,711 MW set on 11 November. NESO said the milestone coincided with the 25th anniversary of the UK’s first offshore wind turbines at Blyth and comes at a time when renewables supply about 60% of Britain’s electricity.
“It’s hard to believe how far Britain has come on its clean power journey over the past quarter of a century, with renewables now producing around 60% of our electricity – up from just 3% in the year 2000,” said Kayte O’Neill, NESO’s chief operating officer. She added: “We’re now a global leader in offshore wind power, home to five of the largest wind farms in the world. And today we can confirm that Britain has broken another maximum wind record, generating 23,825MW — enough energy to power over 23 million homes across the country.”
O’Neill said the latest record “really shows what’s possible when we back clean home-grown energy as part of our generation mix.”
During the record period, gas provided 28.2% of Britain’s electricity, nuclear 7.1%, biomass 6%, interconnectors 5.9%, storage 1.3% and hydropower 1.2%, NESO said.
