U.K. electricity generated from renewables reached almost 30 percent last year, up from 24.5 percent in 2016, government figures revealed on Thursday.
Renewable electricity accounted for 29.3 percent of electricity generated in the country during 2017, 4.8 percentage points higher on an annual basis, according to the 2018 edition of the Digest of U.K. Energy Statistics.
According to the report, electricity generated from renewable sources increased by 19 percent between 2016 and 2017 to 99.3 terawatt-hours (TWh). Generation from wind increased by more than a third, or 34 percent to 50.0 TWh with onshore taking the lead with 29.1 TWh – a 39 percent increase over last year.
Power generated from offshore wind rose by 27 percent during the same period, hitting 20.9 TWh. Solar photovoltaics ranked third with 11.5 TWh, up 11 percent on an annual basis whereas generation from hydro increased by nine percent, rising to 5.9 TWh from 5.4 TWh in 2016.
The increases were driven by higher wind speeds as well as increased capacity, the government said. In March 2007, the European Council agreed a common strategy for energy security and to tackle climate change, setting a 20 percent target for renewables to generate the EU's energy.
"In 2009, a new Renewable Energy Directive was implemented and resulted in agreement of country shares of this target," the government said, adding for the U.K., by 2020, renewable energy sources - calculated on a net calorific basis, and with an air transport fuel cap - should constitute 15 percent of final energy consumption.
In 2017, 10.2 percent of final energy consumption was from renewable sources, up from 9.2 percent in 2016. The rate in 2013 was 5.7 percent, but increased to 7.2 percent in 2014 and 8.4 percent in 2015, demonstrating the country's ability to meet or at least come close to it target of 15 percent within the next two years.
(Anadolu Agency)
