More than half of Britain’s electricity was generated by wind turbines on Boxing Day breaking the previous record, new data has revealed.
Storm Bella swept the country with wind gusts providing 50.7 per cent of Britain’s electricity, according to Drax Electric Insights.
Winds reached up to speeds of 100mph in some parts of the country.
Storm Bella helped give Britain a record breaking day of wind power on Boxing Day
A Drax Electric Insights spokesperson said: ‘Britain has experienced a renewables revolution over the last decade with the growth of biomass, wind and solar power.
‘More than half of Britain’s electricity was generated by wind power on Boxing Day this year, this is the first time ever wind has supplied the majority of the country’s power over the course of a whole day.’
On the same day, nuclear power generated 21.1 per cent of Britain’s electricity, while fossil gas provided 14.6 per cent. Wind generated 15.06 gigawatts.
In comparison, on Boxing Day 2019, the wind produced 32.94 per cent of electricity, equating to 10.02 GW of the electricity on the grid.
The previous record was set on 21 August where a touch beyond 50 per cent of electricity was generated.
Storm Bella created havoc over much of the UK with wind speeds reaching up to 100mph
This was due to a number of weather events in August with Storm Ellen hitting the UK from the 19th to 21st.
The news comes as there is a renewed focus on sustainable energy from both experts and the Government.
The Government has made energy saving and sustainable energy one of its priorities this year with the Prime Minister unveiling the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution in November.
Top of this list was a promise to produce enough offshore wind to power every home, quadrupling how much the UK produces to 40GW by 2030, supporting up to 60,000 jobs.
Other changes have included the introduction of the Green Homes Grant scheme, the possibility of building another nuclear power station and working to generate 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
The Energy White Paper was also released this year, which lays out plans to clean up the UK’s energy system and keep bills affordable.
This includes plans to generate emission-free electricity by 2050 that will see the UK have ‘overwhelmingly’ de-carbonised power in the 2030s.
Additionally, the paper outlines how the UK would move away from fossil fuel boilers – something it has suggested before – helping to make people’s homes warmer, whilst keeping bills low.
By the mid-2030s, it is expected that all newly installed heating systems will be low-carbon or appliances that can be converted to a clean fuel supply.
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