UK electricity cleanest on record in 2024 — Study

Britain produced its cleanest electricity on record last year with output of fossil fuels at an all-time low and renewables reaching a record-high, a study has shown.

Oil, gas and coal together produced 29 per cent of the UK’s electricity in 2024 while renewables — including wind and solar power — made up 45 per cent, according to an analysis Thursday from climate and energy website Carbon Brief.

Britain’s last coal-fired power station closed in October, making the UK the first G7 country to end its reliance on fossil fuel for electricity.

The Labour government followed this up in November with plans to ban new coal mines.

Carbon Brief added that nuclear energy was used to produce 13 per cent of Britain’s electricity last year. A total 11 per cent of Britain’s electricity was imported.

Gas-fired power stations remained the UK’s single-largest source of electricity in 2024, the analysis found.

However, Carbon Brief forecast that the island nation’s wind power would likely generate more electricity than gas this year.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has pledged to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by 81 per cent on 1990 levels by 2035, as part of plans to reach net zero by 2050.

Britain has spearheaded a push into low-carbon energy also as part of its strategy to combat sky-high domestic electricity and gas bills, which rocketed after key producer Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 and sparked a cost-of-living crisis.

Energy bills remain at elevated levels in Britain as the country faces freezing temperatures at the start of the year.