Wind power accounts for more than half of UKs electricity for first time

Wind power accounted for more than half of the United Kingdom’s electricity for the first time on Saturday amid heavy winds caused by Storm Bella, British electrical power company Drax Group announced this week. 

Wind energy made up approximately 50.67 percent of the country’s energy supply, surpassing the previous record of 50 percent reached in August. 

“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,” the Drax Group tweeted on Monday. 

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. #ElectricInsights https://t.co/AyGudXEEIW

— Drax (@DraxGroup) December 28, 2020

The BBC reported over the weekend that Storm Bella brought winds of up to 100 mph, with heavy rain also leading to flooding throughout large parts of the country. 

The storm also battered parts of France, leaving tens of thousands without electricity and delaying planes or forcing them to reroute. 

The substantial winds come as the British government aims to meet its goal for offshore wind farms to make up one-third of the country’s electricity by 2030, reaching a net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as part of its agreement under the 2015 Paris climate accord. 

Drax Group on Monday also tweeted that “Britain has experienced a renewables revolution over the last decade with the growth of biomass, wind and solar power.”

On Tuesday, National Grid’s Electricity System Operator (NGESO) division announced that 2020 was a historic year for the U.K. in terms of renewable energy. 

“2020 was the greenest year on record for Britain’s electricity system, with average carbon intensity — the measure of CO2 emissions per unit of electricity consumed — reaching a new low,” the NGESO said in a statement, French news agency AFP reported.