UK clean energy records make 2017 greenest year ever
Independent reported that this year is set to be the “greenest ever” for the UK, according to data provided by the National Grid. Over the course of 2017, 13 different renewable energy records have been broken.
Mr Duncan Burt, director of the system operator at National Grid said that “It’s been an exciting year managing the many ‘network firsts.
These “firsts” include the first full day since the Industrial Revolution without coal power, an achievement that head of energy at Greenpeace Hannah Martin said would have been “unimaginable” a decade ago.
Other achievements include the most electricity production from solar power at any one moment, and the most wind power produced in a day.
Britain’s power system is the fourth cleanest in Europe and the seventh cleanest in the world.
It is still lagging behind Germany, which has invested extensively in renewable energy and actually paid consumers to use energy over the Christmas period due to supply outstripping demand.
However, public support for green energy is at an all-time high in the UK, and WWF predicted 2017 will be the “greenest year ever” in light of its broken energy records.
Mr Gareth Redmond-King, head of energy and climate at WWF said that “We have never been cleaner or greener – and we are on course for an even better year in 2018.” He said that “This is the success of supporting renewables in electricity.”
“The Government has subsided onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, hydro, the lot, and that has led to the cost of it falling, we have built more and now a third of our electricity comes from renewables.”
In partnership with WWF and Environmental Defence Fund Europe, National Grid has been working to forecast the carbon intensity of electricity.
Mr Burt said 2017 represented “a new era of grid operation”.
“We now have significant volumes of renewable energy on the system which poses an exciting challenge for us in ensuring the supply and demand is matched second by second,” he said.
“As this trend continues, our ability to forecast these patterns is becoming more and more important. We have an expert team of forecasters who monitor a range of data, to forecast just how much electricity will be needed over a set period.”
Experts at the National Grid work with industry to ensure they are equipped to deal with the changing energy landscape, according to Mr Burt.
Source : steelguru
