August 14, 2014

Wind Sets a New Record for Energy Generation in the U.K.

On Sunday night, wind power in the United Kingdom supplied more electricity than domestic coal, biomass, and hydropower (combined) and set a new record for maximum hourly output.

By Melissa C. Lott

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

On Sunday night, wind power in the United Kingdom supplied more electricity than domestic coal, biomass, and hydropower (combined) and set a new record for maximum hourly output. According to RenewableUK, this record was reached at 10pm when wind supplied an hourly average of 5 GW over an hour (17% of the total electricity demand on the UK power grid at that time). The new average was a 25% increase from one year ago, when generation hit 4 GW in August 2013.

According to the UK Wind Energy Database, the nation has a total onshore wind power capacity topping 7.4 GW and approximately 3.7 GW in offshore capacity. But, this resource is still in the minority. As this wind power fleet reached its new record high on Sunday, nuclear and gas power plants were supplying the majority (57%) of the electricity going to the UK power grid. Remaining demand was met by coal (11%), hydropower (2%), biomass (2.5%), and imported power (10%).

Photo Credit: The photo above is of the Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm off the Lincolnshire Coast in the United Kingdom. Located 17-23 kilometers (approximately 10-15 miles) off the coast, this 317 MW wind farm consists of 88 wind turbines and reports the capability to produce 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity per year. The photogram was taken from North Norfolk by David Bradley (sciencebase.com) in July 2014 and is used here with his permission (link).

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American