Renewables hit 41.5% of UK’s electricity

Renewables accounted for an impressive 41.5% of the UK’s total electricity in 2022.

That’s according to new data released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which suggests onshore and offshore wind farms both recorded their highest-ever annual electricity volumes, contributing significantly to the overall renewable energy output.

Wind energy has emerged as the UK’s largest clean power source, generating a record-breaking 24.7% of the nation’s electricity, outperforming its own previous record set in 2020 (24%).

The renewables’ share of the total electricity outshined the share provided by fossil fuels, which stood at 40.8% (132.8TWh).

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said: “Government and industry must pull out all the stops to increase our energy security by ensuring that vital new clean energy projects can be built faster, onshore and offshore. This is not the time to waver or row back on policies which accelerate the energy transition.

“On the contrary, we need more of a focus from the government on ensuring we continue to unlock investment in renewables and that the UK secures the maximum amount of new jobs and manufacturing investment which could flow from the billions of pounds of private investment which our sector brings.”

In response to these statistics, Rajiv Gogna, Partner at LCP Delta said: “So far this year (2023) we have seen similar generation figures for wind, staying above 24%, while solar has increased slightly over the first seven months to 5%.

“Looking behind these headline numbers of renewable generation is what this means for consumers. In recent weeks we have witnessed the UK break into negative intraday and day-ahead pricing due to the abundance of renewable energy available on the grid, including a day where prices were negative for most of the day.

“These instances will become increasingly frequent in the future, especially while storage can’t pick up the surplus, and means that consumers who can gain exposure to these prices through innovative tariffs can take advantage of these low prices at home.”