Updated
Britain has gone a full seven days without using any
electricity generated by burning coal, for the first time since the
Victorian era.
Key points
- 10 years ago, coal produced about one third of the Britain's energy
- The world's largest wind farm recently opened off the coast of England
- Coal-free days are expected to become more common in Britain in the future
Since May 2, the country has been powered by natural gas and nuclear energy, as well as renewables including solar, wind and biomass power.
On Tuesday, 56.9 per cent of Britain's electricity was produced by natural gas.
Nuclear energy was the next largest sector at 20 per cent, according to figures provided by the National Grid Electricity System Operator Control Room.
Great Britain has now officially gone a full week without coal!!!
This is the first time since the original coal power station launched back in 1882 #zerocoal
This is the first time since the original coal power station launched back in 1882 #zerocoal
Prime Minister Theresa May marked the occasion with a tweet on Wednesday, attributing the milestone to the Government's investment in renewable energy.
"I am proud that Britain has gone a record week without using coal to generate power," she said.
"Our investment in greener forms of energy is reducing emissions and ensuring we leave our planet in a better state for the next generation," Mrs May tweeted.
Bruce Mountain, director of Victoria's Energy Policy Centre, said Britain's coal-free week was a "great achievement" that should spur Australia's next Government into action.
"It certainly is embarrassing for us in the sense that our clean energy resource is so much better — we have so much advantage — better wind, better sun, better land availability," he said.
He said the critical difference is that British political parties are aligned on the need to transition to clean energy.
"I think British energy policy has been far more concerned with markets and ensuring that incumbents don't have a large influence on the outcomes," Dr Mountain said.
"I think we have been much less concerned about that, and as consequence I think our politics is skewed by those industry interests."
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull noted Australia's political impasse on climate policy in a tweet from New York, where he is staying during Australia's election campaign.
"The UK's political challenges are not enviable, but at least there is longstanding bipartisan support for tackling climate change and moving to net zero emissions and, in particular, away from burning fossil fuels," he said.
Climate change has become a key issue in the current election campaign. A recent Lowy Institute survey showed two-thirds of Australians consider climate change a "critical threat".
UK aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
Britain's Committee on Climate Change has recommended that all coal be eliminated from the country's energy system by 2025.It has also said it is possible for the country to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.
Net-zero refers to a level achieved by offsetting remaining emissions with measures including planting trees.
The cuts are in line with the target set by the Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2016 to keep a global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century.
Britain has gradually been reducing its reliance on coal since recording its first coal-free day on April 21, 2017.
In 2008, coal produced 31 per cent of the country's electricity. At the end of last year it was just 5.7 per cent.
The country's electricity supply is now split almost evenly between renewables and gas, both around 37 per cent. Nuclear power accounts for about 16.5 per cent.
Like coal, natural gas is a fossil fuel. But it has a higher energy content than coal and so produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The UK is considered a world leader in wind power.
The world's largest wind farm, the Walney Extension, started operating last September off the Cumbrian coast in the Irish Sea. It currently provides clean electricity to nearly 600,000 homes.
Fintan Slye, director of the National Grid Electricity System Operator, said as more renewables come online, Britain's coal-free periods will become more common.
That could happen as soon as the British summer, said Dr Mountain, when energy demand is likely to drop and solar power becomes easier to generate.
"It's early spring now and they've achieved this already for a week — I would guess that in summer it won't be a week without coal, it'll be seven weeks without coal," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment