https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/31/great-britain-records-two-weeks-of-coal-free-electricity-generation
[links in online article]
Great Britain records two weeks of coal-free electricity generation
England, Scotland and Wales went for two weeks without coal at 3.12pm on
Friday
Jasper Jolly
Fri 31 May 2019
Great Britain has hit a new power milestone – lasting for a fortnight
without using any coal power to generate electricity for the first time
since the industrial revolution.
The system which supplies electricity across England, Scotland and Wales
went for two weeks without coal at 3:12pm BST precisely, according to
the National Grid Electricity System Operator.
The latest landmark comes less than a month after Britain’s first week
without coal, underlining the dramatic decline in its use in recent years.
Coal has been used for electricity generation since 1882, when a plant
opened in Holborn, London. However in 2018 the fuel made up just 5% of
Britain’s electricity generation, a big decline from about 40% in 2012,
according to figures from the Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy.
Coal has mainly been replaced by natural gas, which produces less than
half the carbon dioxide emissions. Renewable sources with no direct
carbon emissions, such as solar and wind power, accounted for 28% of
electricity generation in 2018, according to the power company Drax. The
British record for solar power has also been beaten this month. On 14
May the country generated 25% of its power from the sun.
Modelling by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that
coal use for energy generation globally will have to be reduced to close
to zero in every scenario in which global temperature increases are
limited to 1.5C.
Seven coal-fired power stations remain in use in the UK, mainly as
backups during cold periods when energy demands are high. The Cottam
plant in north Nottinghamshire will close in September, after owners EDF
Energy said it was no longer economical to run it.
The government last year revealed plans to shut down all coal-fired
power stations by 2025, but it has come under pressure to accelerate the
transition away from fossil fuels after parliament declared a climate
emergency at the start of the month.
Business leaders and leading scientists this week urged the calls for
the government to legislate for a target of net-zero emissions of
greenhouse gases from the UK economy by 2050, as recommended by the
committee on climate change, the government’s independent climate advisors.
In a letter to the prime minister, business leaders urged the government
to “act immediately to put in legislation” to meet the 2050 target. The
letter was signed by senior executives of companies including BT,
Iceland, Legal & General, Sainsbury’s and John Lewis.
The Labour party has already committed to the 2050 target, adding to the
pressure on the government. Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s shadow energy
secretary, said: “The roll-out of renewable energy is far too slow and
the government are set to miss their existing emissions reductions targets.
“We join with businesses in urging the government to bring forward the
UK’s emission reduction targets and implementing a pathway to get there.”
Government policy is that the UK is “on a path” to making the legal
commitment to reduce net carbon emissions to zero. However, distracted
by the imminent departure of Theresa May as prime minister – the
government has so far not introduced statutory instruments to set the
legally binding commitment.
Chris Skidmore, the energy and clean growth minister, said the
government was “consigning coal to the history books”.
He said the government “aim[s] to become the first major economy to
legislate for a net-zero emissions economy and bid to host pivotal
climate talks in 2020”.
[More climate change headlines and links at the 10n10.ca blog
https://www.10n10.ca/e/CCC-Blog.shtml ;]
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