UK runs without coal power for three days in a row

The UK has been powered without coal for three days in a row, setting a new record and underlining the polluting fuel’s rapid decline.

Coal has historically been at the cornerstone of the UK’s electricity mix, but last year saw the first 24-hour period that the country ran without the fuel since the 19th century. New records were broken last week when zero power came from coal for nearly 55 consecutive hours.

 

For the first time since the 1880s the UK electricity network has clocked up over 72 hours without the need for coal generation. This new record comes days after the first ever 48 hour period of no coal on the network.

— National Grid Media (@Grid_Media) 24 aprile 2018

 

That milestone in turn was smashed on Monday afternoon and the UK passed the 72-hour mark at 10am on Tuesday, 23^th April. The coal-free run came to an end after 76 hours.

Without the fossil fuel, nearly a third of Britain’s electricity was supplied by gas, followed by windfarms and nuclear on around a quarter each.

The rest came from biomass burned at Drax power station in North Yorkshire, imports from France and the Netherlands, and solar power. Drax said it expected to go without coal on Tuesday.

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Source: The Guardian

Date: June 2018

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