Britain goes week without coal power for first time since industrial revolution

‘We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon’

Britain has gone a full week without using coal power for the first time since the industrial revolution.

The new record – set at 1.24pm on Tuesday – marks the first coal-free week since the world’s first coal-fired plant opened in London in 1882.

The latest milestone comes just two years after Britain marked its first full day without coal.

National Grid Electricity System Operator director Fintan Slye said: “We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon.”

Over Easter bank holiday weekend Britain went five days without burning coal, and Mr Slye predicted coal-free runs would become the “new normal”.

“As more and more renewables come on to our energy system, coal-free runs like this are going to be a regular occurrence,” he said.

Government figures show renewable energy – wind, solar, bioenergy and hydropower – accounted for 27.5 per cent of electricity generation in 2018.

Mr Slye said: “Operating a zero-carbon electricity system in 2025, whenever there is sufficient renewable generation, is a major stepping stone to full decarbonisation of the entire electricity system.

“This will enable new technologies and removes barriers to ever-increasing levels of renewables.”

Coal power, which the government has pledged to bring off the system by 2025, fell to a new low usage in 2018. It accounted for just 6 per cent of power supplies, while gas made up 43.9 per cent of supply, down from 44.8 per cent in 2017.

Greg Clark, the business and energy secretary, said: “Going a week without coal for the first time since the industrial revolution is a huge leap forward in our world-leading efforts to reduce emissions, but we’re not stopping there.

“To combat climate change and seize on the opportunities of clean growth, we’re phasing out coal entirely by 2025 and building a cleaner, greener energy system.”

Government advisers from the Committee on Climate Change have outlined how the UK could and should reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Mr Clark said the UK was now on a path to become the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions.

Additional reporting by PA