Britain has seen its “greenest” period of electricity production on record, as carbon pollution and the share of power from fossil fuels fell to new lows overnight.
Between 12.30 and 01:00 on Monday morning, the share of power coming from fossil fuels fell to its lowest ever level of 11%, all of which was coming from gas, National Grid said.
Low demand and windy conditions meant low-carbon wind and nuclear power were generating the lion’s share of electricity, while the grid was also seeing a period of 29 hours without any coal power.
Pollution from power supplies fell to a record low of 73 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity generated (73gCO2/kWh).
The average level for 2016 was 254g/kWh, according to Government figures, and it needs to fall to below 100g/kWh by 2030 to meet the UK’s targets to tackle the emissions which cause climate change.
A new green energy forecast developed by National Grid with Environmental Defense Fund Europe and WWF, also predicts that carbon pollution will drop below 100g/kWh again overnight on Monday night.
The forecast aims to allow people to see up to 48 hours ahead when the “greenest” time is to charge up their phones or put appliances such as dishwashers on, when the grid is seeing least fossil fuel generation and carbon emissions.
The latest records come after National Grid figures showed Britain had experienced its greenest summer ever with low-carbon sources of electricity making up 52% of generation from June to September.
In response to the new records, James Beard, climate and energy specialist at WWF, said: “Going below the milestone of 100 gCO2/kWh is a huge step in the right direction, but rather than being a one-off it needs to be the norm by 2030 to meet our carbon budgets.
“The UK Government’s long-overdue Clean Growth Plan must set out clearly how we will continue to reduce our emissions and boost investment not just in renewables, but also energy efficiency and electric vehicles.
And he said: “Solar panels powered us to our greenest summer ever this year, but as the nights draw in it’s a chance for wind power to step up. Just a few days into autumn we are already smashing new energy records.
“These windy nights are the perfect time to charge laptops, phones and cars.”
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