National Grid ESO has confirmed that a new wind energy generation record was set last week in the UK.
Wind power generated 20.918GW of electricity in the half-hour period between 6:00pm and 6.30pm on 30 December 2022.
Trade body RenewableUK highlighted that this meant that wind provided 61.4% of the UK’s power that day.
This surpasses the previous record of 20.896GW set on 2nd November 2022, reaching a new high for the third time in a year.
National Grid ESO also confirmed that a new record was set on the same day for the percentage of low-carbon electricity, including renewables and nuclear, generated in a half-hour period, which reached 87.2%.
RenewableUK chief executive officer Dan McGrail said: “The fact that the UK’s onshore and offshore wind farms keep setting new electricity generation records shows just how important this technology has become in our modern energy system.
“Wind power is playing a central role in keeping UK homes and businesses powered up at the coldest time of the year.
“Wind is now the UK’s cheapest source of new power, so every unit of electricity we generate from it helps consumers by reducing ultra-expensive gas imports.
“Investing in more wind and other renewables is vital in tackling the cost of living crisis for hard-pressed bill payers.
“It’s great to see that we’ve also set a new record of nearly 90% of our electricity generated by low carbon sources, as it demonstrates the enormous amount of progress which the UK has made in moving away from fossil fuels, getting us closer to our net zero goal.”