UK goes more than 100 hours without using coal power for first time in a century

Authored by independent.co.uk and submitted by ManiaforBeatles
image for UK goes more than 100 hours without using coal power for first time in a century

Britain has gone more than four days without using coal-fired power to generate its electricity, smashing the previous record set during last month’s Easter weekend.

By late Monday morning, the National Grid said the UK had gone 122 hours in a row and rising without using coal, the burning of which is one of the world’s biggest contributors to climate change.

It is the first time the nation has been powered for so long without the fossil fuel since the world’s first coal-fired power station for public use was opened in London in 1882.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

The country has already gone more than 1,000 hours in total without needing coal in 2019, and this year is on course to smash all previous records.

“As more and more renewables come onto our energy system weekends like this are going to increasingly seem like the ‘new normal’,” a spokesperson for the National Grid Electricity System Operator told The Independent.

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

“The transformation of how we get the energy to heat our homes and power our work is a massive change, but the advantages it brings in terms of green energy far outweigh any challenges.”

Despite the phasing out of coal, the UK is far from meeting targets that would get it to net zero emissions by 2020 – as was demanded last week by the government’s climate change advisers.

Shape Created with Sketch. Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London Show all 46 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Extinction Rebellion: Climate change protests cause chaos in London 1/46 Canary Wharf A protester gives a thumbs up as he stalls a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in London Reuters 2/46 City of London Protesters hold up traffic on Upper Thames Street in the City of London Getty 3/46 Canary Wharf Protesters hold a banner as they hold up a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in London Reuters 4/46 Waterloo Bridge Officers remove plants that were placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge PA 5/46 Oxford Circus Police officers arrive at Oxford Circus as they prepare to remove protesters during the fifth day of a coordinated protest by the Extinction Rebellion group, April 19 Getty 6/46 Waterloo Bridge An activist waters the plants at the occupation on Waterloo Bridge PA 7/46 Heathrow airport Undeterred by over 400 arrests, climate change activists continued their demonstration into a fifth day in London with a small protest at the country's main Heathrow Airport, along with the ongoing protest camps at other iconic locations around the British capital Reuters 8/46 Oxford Circus Protesters with the words 'glued on' written on their hands hold hands as police officers arrive at Oxford Circus Getty 9/46 Waterloo Bridge Officers circle the lorry that serves as the central stage to the Waterloo Bridge occupation, repeating their tactic from a earlier at the Oxford Circus occupation Reuters 10/46 Oxford Circus Oxford Circus reopens after being closed for days due to occupation AFP/Getty 11/46 Waterloo Bridge Officers prepare to move in on the occupation of Waterloo Bridge PA 12/46 Waterloo Bridge Activists relax on a sofa at the occupation on Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 13/46 Oxford Circus British actress Emma Thompson talks to members of the media from atop the pink boat after police officers surrounded the boat being used as a stage as climate change activists occupy the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protesst by the Extinction Rebellion group AFP 14/46 Waterloo Bridge An Extinction Rebellion demonstrator is carried away by police on Waterloo Bridge PA 15/46 Waterloo Bridge Activists on Waterloo Bridge have made a garden for their occupation site, April 20 Reuters 16/46 Oxford Circus Demonstrators began blocking off a bridge and major central road junctions on April 15 at the start of a civil disobedience campaign calling for governments to declare an ecological emergency over climate change, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and be led by new "citizens' assemblies on climate and ecological justice" Reuters 17/46 Oxford Circus Emma Thompson joins the Extinction Rebellion protest at Oxford Circus. Thompson spoke from the pink boat at the centre of the occupation AFP/Getty 18/46 Heathrow airport Extinction Rebellion protesters sit outside Heathrow Airport on April 19 Reuters 19/46 Heathrow airport Climate protestors hold a demo outside Heathrow Airport Getty 20/46 Waterloo Bridge Police officers detain a climate change activist at Waterloo Bridge Reuters 21/46 Marble Arch Protesters prepare for another day at Marble Arch as the Extinction Rebellion protests enter their fifth day Getty 22/46 Oxford Circus British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat AFP/Getty 23/46 Oxford Circus Actress Emma Thompson takes a photo with a Extinction Rebellion demonstrator PA 24/46 Oxford Circus Climate change activists blockade Oxford Circus on the third day of an environmental protest by the Extinction Rebellion group AFP/Getty 25/46 Waterloo Bridge Climate change activists stand atop a bus shelter as they take part in a blockade of Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 26/46 Canary Wharf Police is seen as climate change activists demonstrate during the Extinction Rebellion protest, at Canary Wharf DLR station in London Reuters 27/46 Waterloo Bridge Police speak to climate change activists blockading Waterloo bridge AFP/Getty 28/46 Waterloo Bridge EPA 29/46 Waterloo Bridge Climate change activists, one (right) with her hand glued to the underside of a truck parked across Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 30/46 Oxford Circus Environmental campaigners protest in the centre of Oxford Circus Getty 31/46 Jeremy Corbyn's Home Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion protest sit after glueing themselves to the front fence of Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's house Reuters 32/46 Marble Arch Dozens of tents have been pitched at Marble Arch in a large scale occupation Reuters 33/46 Canary Wharf station Police remove climate activists who glued themselves on top of a train at Canary Wharf station EPA 34/46 Oxford Circus Police forces carry a protester AP 35/46 Canary Wharf station A climate change protestor who glued his hand to a window halts a DLR train AFP/Getty 36/46 Waterloo Bridge PA 37/46 Waterloo Bridge EPA 38/46 Waterloo Bridge EPA 39/46 Oxford Circus PA 40/46 Oxford Circus Getty 41/46 Waterloo Bridge Pedestrians and a cyclist pass graffiti drawn by protestors who blocked Waterloo Bridge AP 42/46 Waterloo Bridge Climate change protestors practice yoga on Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 43/46 Waterloo Bridge A climate change activist gestures while being detained by police officers Reuters 44/46 Waterloo Bridge Protestors sit on the road AP 45/46 Waterloo Bridge PA 46/46 Oxford Circus AP 1/46 Canary Wharf A protester gives a thumbs up as he stalls a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in London Reuters 2/46 City of London Protesters hold up traffic on Upper Thames Street in the City of London Getty 3/46 Canary Wharf Protesters hold a banner as they hold up a DLR train at Canary Wharf station in London Reuters 4/46 Waterloo Bridge Officers remove plants that were placed in the occupation of Waterloo Bridge PA 5/46 Oxford Circus Police officers arrive at Oxford Circus as they prepare to remove protesters during the fifth day of a coordinated protest by the Extinction Rebellion group, April 19 Getty 6/46 Waterloo Bridge An activist waters the plants at the occupation on Waterloo Bridge PA 7/46 Heathrow airport Undeterred by over 400 arrests, climate change activists continued their demonstration into a fifth day in London with a small protest at the country's main Heathrow Airport, along with the ongoing protest camps at other iconic locations around the British capital Reuters 8/46 Oxford Circus Protesters with the words 'glued on' written on their hands hold hands as police officers arrive at Oxford Circus Getty 9/46 Waterloo Bridge Officers circle the lorry that serves as the central stage to the Waterloo Bridge occupation, repeating their tactic from a earlier at the Oxford Circus occupation Reuters 10/46 Oxford Circus Oxford Circus reopens after being closed for days due to occupation AFP/Getty 11/46 Waterloo Bridge Officers prepare to move in on the occupation of Waterloo Bridge PA 12/46 Waterloo Bridge Activists relax on a sofa at the occupation on Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 13/46 Oxford Circus British actress Emma Thompson talks to members of the media from atop the pink boat after police officers surrounded the boat being used as a stage as climate change activists occupy the road junction at Oxford Circus in central London during the fifth day of environmental protesst by the Extinction Rebellion group AFP 14/46 Waterloo Bridge An Extinction Rebellion demonstrator is carried away by police on Waterloo Bridge PA 15/46 Waterloo Bridge Activists on Waterloo Bridge have made a garden for their occupation site, April 20 Reuters 16/46 Oxford Circus Demonstrators began blocking off a bridge and major central road junctions on April 15 at the start of a civil disobedience campaign calling for governments to declare an ecological emergency over climate change, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and be led by new "citizens' assemblies on climate and ecological justice" Reuters 17/46 Oxford Circus Emma Thompson joins the Extinction Rebellion protest at Oxford Circus. Thompson spoke from the pink boat at the centre of the occupation AFP/Getty 18/46 Heathrow airport Extinction Rebellion protesters sit outside Heathrow Airport on April 19 Reuters 19/46 Heathrow airport Climate protestors hold a demo outside Heathrow Airport Getty 20/46 Waterloo Bridge Police officers detain a climate change activist at Waterloo Bridge Reuters 21/46 Marble Arch Protesters prepare for another day at Marble Arch as the Extinction Rebellion protests enter their fifth day Getty 22/46 Oxford Circus British actress Emma Thompson gives an address from the stage atop the pink boat AFP/Getty 23/46 Oxford Circus Actress Emma Thompson takes a photo with a Extinction Rebellion demonstrator PA 24/46 Oxford Circus Climate change activists blockade Oxford Circus on the third day of an environmental protest by the Extinction Rebellion group AFP/Getty 25/46 Waterloo Bridge Climate change activists stand atop a bus shelter as they take part in a blockade of Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 26/46 Canary Wharf Police is seen as climate change activists demonstrate during the Extinction Rebellion protest, at Canary Wharf DLR station in London Reuters 27/46 Waterloo Bridge Police speak to climate change activists blockading Waterloo bridge AFP/Getty 28/46 Waterloo Bridge EPA 29/46 Waterloo Bridge Climate change activists, one (right) with her hand glued to the underside of a truck parked across Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 30/46 Oxford Circus Environmental campaigners protest in the centre of Oxford Circus Getty 31/46 Jeremy Corbyn's Home Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion protest sit after glueing themselves to the front fence of Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's house Reuters 32/46 Marble Arch Dozens of tents have been pitched at Marble Arch in a large scale occupation Reuters 33/46 Canary Wharf station Police remove climate activists who glued themselves on top of a train at Canary Wharf station EPA 34/46 Oxford Circus Police forces carry a protester AP 35/46 Canary Wharf station A climate change protestor who glued his hand to a window halts a DLR train AFP/Getty 36/46 Waterloo Bridge PA 37/46 Waterloo Bridge EPA 38/46 Waterloo Bridge EPA 39/46 Oxford Circus PA 40/46 Oxford Circus Getty 41/46 Waterloo Bridge Pedestrians and a cyclist pass graffiti drawn by protestors who blocked Waterloo Bridge AP 42/46 Waterloo Bridge Climate change protestors practice yoga on Waterloo Bridge AFP/Getty 43/46 Waterloo Bridge A climate change activist gestures while being detained by police officers Reuters 44/46 Waterloo Bridge Protestors sit on the road AP 45/46 Waterloo Bridge PA 46/46 Oxford Circus AP

Environmental groups were angered after Theresa May refused to commit to act “now”, and instead said only that she will “respond urgently” to the call for new laws.

The comments fell far short of the call by the Committee on Climate Change to enact immediately a legally binding duty to hit the 2050 target, ahead of a UN summit in September.

Experts have also warned most of the power previously generated by coal is largely being replaced by gas, which is now the dominant source of Britain’s electricity needs.

Although less harmful than coal, gas is a fossil fuel that under the 2008 Climate Change Act requires emissions to be reduced by 80 per cent in 2050 compared with 1990 levels.

“We’re closing in on phasing out coal entirely from our power system by 2025 as our renewables sector goes from strength to strength on our path to becoming the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions,” a government spokesperson told The Independent.

_ginger_kid on May 7th, 2019 at 06:45 UTC »

The stats are tweeted hourly for those interested

@UK_Coal

@UK_SolarEnergy

@UK_WindEnergy

@UK_Biomass

@UKNuclearEnergy

@UK_WindEnergy

@UK_GasEnergy

@UK_LargeHydro

And there is an app for iOS and Android that shows the data live, including imported energy.

GridCarbon

So for all the comments about imported energy, biomass, oil etc please check the data first ok. I am not suggesting we are super green (Gas is still a fossil fuel), but it is progress.

MesterenR on May 7th, 2019 at 05:20 UTC »

I think we can fully expect this record to be broken many times in the comming summer.

thepope1986 on May 7th, 2019 at 04:27 UTC »

All those child coal miners put to waste. Think about the children!