British wind generation hits fresh record of 20.918 GW

Britain ended the year with a new record for wind power generation, which hit 20.918 GW in the half-hour period between 1800 and 1830 on Friday, December 30.

The record was confirmed on Tuesday by National Grid ESO and highlighted by industry group RenewableUK.

Set against the backdrop of windy weather and low electricity use, the record is the third in the past year, exceeding the previous high of 20.896 GW registered on November 2.

Low-carbon electricity generation also set a record on December 30, reaching a share of 87.2% in a half-hour period. Wind delivered 61.4% of Britain’s electricity that day, RenewableUK said.

"These new electricity generation records shows just how important onshore and offshore wind has become in our modern energy system,” commented RenewableUK's chief executive Dan McGrail.

“Wind is now the UK's cheapest source of new power, so every unit of electricity we generate from it helps consumers by reducing our reliance on expensive gas imports,” he added.

RenewableUK recently said that the low-carbon energy sources have saved British billpayers more than GBP 5 billion (USD 6bn/EUR 5.7bn) over the period from October 31 to December 18 by reducing gas imports.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.198/EUR 1.136)

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