Climate Changed

The U.K. Had a Record Year for Wind Generation

Wind’s share of electricity mix increased to 15% from 10%
Carbon emissions from power consumption fell 12% in 2017

A wind farm stands in the Sutherland area of Scotland, U.K., on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Generating power from new onshore wind farms would be 100 million pound a year cheaper than doing so from new nuclear reactors or biomass plants, and at least 30 million pounds cheaper than under the latest offshore wind-power contracts, according to research by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, a London-based non-profit group.Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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By Rachel Morison

February 21, 2018 at 12:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Wind farms produced a record 15 percent of Britain’s electricity last year, helping damp emissions from power.

Wind generation was double the output of coal as new sites started and several storms swept through Britain, boosting turbine speeds by 5 percent compared with 2016, according to a report published by Imperial College London and Drax Plc. The U.K. power grid was free from coal for 618 hours last year, the equivalent of almost 26 days, it said.