For 67 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes, Great Britain went without coal; the longest uninterrupted period since 1882 during the industrial revolution. Previously, the longest coal-free period was 18 days, six hours and ten minutes in June of last year.
This 67-day new record came about due to two main factors: the weather and the COVID-19 lockdown. In April 2020, a new solar generation record – 9.68GW – was set by the sunny weather. The demand for coal-sourced energy in the spring and summer is generally lower than any other time of year.
Additionally, with the introduction of lockdown due to COVID-19, demand for power decreased by up to 20 percent compared to 2019. Hospitality sectors, schools and businesses shut down almost completely, and the mass decrease in industrial demand has outweighed the lesser increased domestic consumption of energy.
The new record ended due to the “essential maintenance” of coal units, in preparation for increased demand in the winter months.
Though the consumption of coal energy has been negligible over these sunny months, these tests were vital in trialing the units for winter. Whilst the renewable streak has ended, it is unlikely coal power will be used throughout the rest of the summer.
Drax, the British electrical power generation company responsible for ending the 67-day streak due to coal unit running tests, is set to stop coal generation completely from March 2021, opting to support biomass power and carbon capture instead.
Furthermore, National Grid, the system operator for England, Scotland and Wales’ electricity and gas supply, aims to work without any fossil fuels at all, operating the electricity system entirely with zero-carbon sources by 2025. In fact, they are one of only 11 companies that were featured on the 2019 CDP A-list, detailing the greatest environmental performances for climate change.
“2020 is shaping up to be a record-breaking year for Great Britain’s electricity system,” said Fintan Slye, director of ESO, a legally separate business within the National Grid group. Back in February, the UK had its greenest month on record for electricity generation and CO2 emissions produced per kilowatt-hour reached a new low.
With greater reliance on smart grid technologies and renewable energy sources, Great Britain is quickly becoming a world leader in transitioning to net zero. There are plans in 2023 to install a 1,400MW subsea cable between the UK and Denmark, supplying renewable energy to 1.4 million households. Furthermore, the UK government plan to close the last of the coal power plants, of which only three remain, by 2024.
“Britain’s energy system is in the midst of a rapid and complex transformation,” said Katerina Tsirimpa, head of corporate finance for National Grid. “We know we have a critical role in the acceleration towards a cleaner future […], towards our net zero commitment and [reinforcing] our strong leadership position in the path to a greener energy landscape.”
