The UK’s wind power industry is breaking records EVERY MONTH after storms battered Britain this winter.
According to the latest figures, wind energy met 11 per cent of total electricity demand in February, breaking the previous 10 per cent record set in December 2013.
It is the relative supply security offered by renewable energy that the new figures underline, against the backdrop that Russia could respond to sanctions over the Ukraine by restricting gas supplies to Europe.
Wind generators smashed other records in recent weeks. Wind supplied 17 per cent of UK electricity demand on 23rd February, breaking the previous daily record. And wind power generated an all-time half hour high of 6,215MW on 31 January.
The figures account for power generated by wind farms connected to the National Grid and as such the real total will have been higher still, thanks to a number of off-grid wind farms and small scale turbines. National Grid collect this data but does not report it.
UK quango RenewableUK said the figures highlighted an energy source that is not exposed to fluctuations in international market prices.
“The need to develop a secure, home-grown supply of electricity in a cost-effective way is at the forefront of people’s minds right now, so it’s good to see wind energy consistently ticking all the right boxes, month after month,” said RenewableUK. “To meet the energy needs of homes and businesses throughout the UK, it’s vital that we keep on harnessing one of Britain’s best natural resources. This makes us less reliant on expensive imported energy from volatile international energy markets”.