New analysis from Imperial College London has found that Britain produced 100% clean electricity for 25 hours in December 2022, the longest period on record.
The report, for Drax Electric Insights Clean, found renewable sources, such as hydro, wind, solar and biomass, as well as nuclear, combined to break the record for the volume of clean surplus power produced, which was 2.9GW.
During 2022 there were nearly 100 hours where the grid delivered more clean power than it needed.
Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report, said: “Britain’s power grid has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last decade with surplus clean electricity having switched from being a pipe dream to becoming a reality.
“Electricity is the only form of energy where we produce more than we consume – in comparison to our coal and gas requirements where 60-75% are still imported from abroad.
“The UK has led the world in ‘greening its grid’ further and faster than any other major economy and we need to ensure we don’t lose the momentum to make net zero a reality.”