On Tuesday evening, wind power production surpassed 21 gigawatts for the first time ever, setting a new record for the week.

Over the New Year, wind energy across the UK’s turbines peaked due to strong winds.

National Grid‘s electricity system operator (NGESO) confirmed that between 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, it produced 21.6 GW of electricity or 50.4% of the UK’s energy mix.

This is the most amount of wind energy ever produced, surpassing the previous  20.9GW established on December 30, the third wind energy record achieved in 2017.

Wind plays a progressively important role in the UK’s energy mix (producing 26.8% of the UK’s energy mix). Throughout the winter, the industry association RenewableUK has been tracking power produced by low-carbon sources such as renewables and nuclear and releasing updates every two weeks.

In the post-Christmas period from December 27 to January 9, according to the most recent statistics, 82.5% of Britain’s electricity came from low-carbon power sources.

This decreased the demand for gas by 1.31 billion cubic metres, which would have cost £2.1 billion.

Dan McGrail, chief executive officer of RenewableUK, urged the government to capitalise on the continuous expansion of wind power generation. “With public support for renewables also reaching new record highs, it is evident that we should maximise new investment in renewables to improve our energy security,” he stated.

Government targets expansion of wind power

The government aims to substantially increase offshore wind power over the next decade, aiming to increase capacity from 11GW to 50GW by the decade’s end. It has also decided to liberalise planning restrictions for onshore wind, which contributes 14GW to the UK’s energy mix. Targets for energy production in the UK’s security plan.  The latest record-breaking wind statistics follow NGESO’s report on energy generation from the previous year.

It was disclosed on January 29, 2022, that wind generated a record 64% of the UK’s energy mix.

In February, May, October, November, and December, zero-carbon electrical sources such as renewables and nuclear generated over 50% of the UK’s energy. They even outperformed traditional fossil fuel output over the past year, supplying 48.5% of the electricity utilised this year, compared to 40% from gas and coal power plants.

Nevertheless, wind generation, an intermittent power source, is subject to fluctuations.

In November, the UK wind power industry went from producing 16.4 GW to barely 0.4 GW, resulting in a supply bottleneck that prompted National Grid to initiate early-phase emergency measures. In December and early January, the UK avoided blackouts due to a combination of gas supplies, interconnectors, and a resurgence of renewable energy following Christmas.