Blown away! Wind generates more electricity than gas for the first time ever as Britain’s turbines create enough energy for 300 million Teslas
- Wind generated almost a third of Britain’s power in the first quarter of 2023
- Britain got five per cent more power from wind in 2023 compared to last year
Wind power generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations for the first time ever in the first three months of this year, new data analysis reveals.
Almost a third of Britain’s electricity (32.4 per cent) came from wind in the first quarter of 2023.
The share of gas was 31.7 per cent, according to analysis by power group Drax.
It is the first-time wind has provided the largest share of power in any quarter in the history of the country’s electricity grid.
The findings have been released ahead of the next instalment of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report.
Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of electricity in the first three months of the year – enough to charge more than 300 million Tesla Model Y’s. Pictured: A wind farm in Cumbria (File image)
The publication is an independent report by academics from Imperial College London commissioned through Imperial Consultants.
Across the three months, Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of electricity – enough to charge more than 300 million Tesla Model Y’s.
Output from wind was three per cent higher than during the same quarter last year, while gas was down by five per cent.
Almost 42 per cent of Britain’s electricity came from sources classed as renewable (wind, solar, biomass, and hydro) in the first three months of 2023.
Wind turbines generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations for the first time ever in the first three months of 2023, analysis by power company Drax shows. Pictured: Carbisdale Castle with windmills in the background in the Scottish Highlands (File image)
Fossil fuels supplied 33 per cent, with the rest coming from imports from abroad and the country’s shrinking nuclear fleet.
Dr Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report series, said: ‘The renewable power revolution has transformed how Britain gets its electricity, making our power grid cleaner and greener.
‘In the space of a decade the UK has almost completely cut out coal, after relying on the most polluting fossil fuel for over a century to power our country.
‘There are still many hurdles to reaching a completely fossil fuel-free grid, but wind out supplying gas for the first time is a genuine milestone event, and shows what can be achieved when governments create a good environment for investors in clean technology.’
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