Renewable power’s contribution to the UK generation mix soared in 2015, official statistics show.
Compared to 2014, solar generation almost doubled (up 87% to 7.6TWh) on the back of a 69% increase in capacity (9.2GW, up from 5.4GW in 2014).
Offshore wind generation was 30 per cent higher than in 2014, with capacity up 13 per cent. Onshore wind generation was 23 per cent higher, with capacity up 7.6 per cent. Overall wind generation was 26 per cent higher and capacity 7.0 per cent higher, DUKES data shows.
Generation from bioenergy was also up almost a third due to the impact of Drax’s conversion of a third unit to burn mostly wood pellets.
High rainfall also led to a generation increase of 6.7% from hydro power.
Overall, renewable generators provided just under a quarter of UK power in 2015. The data suggests that, while renewable sources of heat increased 20% year on year, the UK remains some way off its 2020 renewable energy targets due to lack of progress in decarbonising heat and transport.
Provisional calculations suggest that 8.3 per cent of energy consumption in 2015 came from renewable sources, up from 7.0 per cent in 2014. To hit the 2020 targets, much greater effort will be required, particularly around heat.
See the data here.
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