Month of solar highs helps UK shatter coal-free record

Image credit: Lars Plougmann / Flickr

The UK has smashed its coal-free generation record, coming just under a year since the record was previously set.

The record – which National Grid ESO confirmed was broken at 6:10am on Tuesday 28 April – was made possible by a combination of high levels of solar on the grid and lower than usual demand.

Previously, the UK had gone a landmark 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes without coal in a month that saw it first surpass a week without coal generation and then a fortnight. The record was set in May 2019, a month that saw over 600 coal free hours, more than was seen across the whole of 2017.

Solar played a key role in ensuring the coal-free run this month, having set a new peak-generation record of 9.68GW on 20 April. The previous peak generation record – 9.55GW – was also set in May 2019.

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