U.K. GRID GOES DAY WITHOUT COAL FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1882

The National Grid was poised

to announce Britain’s first full day without coal power “since the Industrial Revolution.” A combination of low demand for electricity and an abundance of wind meant officials Friday were expecting the grid to complete 24 hours relying on just natural gas, nuclear and renewables. Engineers at the company said the day would mark a “historic” milestone in Britain’s shift away from carbon fuels, and that coal-free days would become increasingly common. Use of the fossil fuel accounted for nine per cent of electricity generation last year, down from 23 per cent in 2015. The government has pledged to phase out coal — the most-polluting fossil fuel — from the system by 2025. The electricity grid has been coal-free several times since spring last year, but until now the longest continuous coal-free period had been 19 hours. The watershed moment marks the first full day Britain’s electricity system has survived without coal since the world’s first centralized public coal-fired generator opened at Holborn Viaduct in London in 1882.