Up to mid October this year, 310 new turbines were built onshore and 309 offshore in the UK. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said that in the last quarter the amount of electricity generated by offshore wind farms increased by 54 per cent, while onshore wind went up by 38 per cent due to increased capacity. There are currently just over 4,000 turbines in the UK, however renewables still make up just under 12 per cent of supply.
Most of the electricity generated in the third quarter was from coal that is cheap at the moment. Also coal-fired power stations are generating as much electricity as possible before EU pollution rules will force the coal-fired powers stations to close in a couple of years’ time. Coal provided 35 per cent of energy followed by 28 per cent of energy from gas and 22 per cent from nuclear. Oil represents less than one per cent.
-tk-