Wind power hits record in Britain

WIND supplied over a quarter of Britain’s electricity for the first time ever last year, highlighting the rapid growth of the energy source.

Figures from National Grid show wind was the second largest source of electricity in 2022, supplying 26.8pc. That represents a gain of 5 percentage points compared with 2021.

During the windiest month, February, turbines generated 41.4pc of national supply. Meanwhile, a windy day on Dec 30 saw turbines’ output hit 20.918 gigawatts, the most from Britain’s growing fleet so far.

Wind now accounts for a greater proportion of Britain’s electricity mix than nuclear, after two large plants shut down in 2022.

Turbine-generated electricity was second only to gas as a source last year, which generated 38.5pc of the mix. The figures highlight the huge change over the past decade, spurred first by a push to cut carbon emissions and accelerated by Russia’s throttling of gas supplies.

As recently as 2012, coal produced 40pc of UK electricity and wind just 5.5pc.

The proportion of wind in the mix is growing as new, taller turbines are built, with the UK one of the most attractive markets for developers.