According to data from the UK government, coal-fired power plants only supplied 2% of the electricity in the United Kingdom during the first 6 months of 2017. That is a huge change from just five years ago where coal supplied 40% of the UK's electricity needs each year. This is mostly down to the huge increase in renewables which now account for 25% of the electricity in the country.
Despite coal plants still generating power across the UK, the demand is so small that occasionally now the National Grid is able to turn these plants off completely as enough power is being generated from other sources. A reflection of this is shown in the number of active coal mines in the UK. In the 1960's there were more than 1,000. Today, there are just 10.
Scotland has already made the move to being 'coal-free' after they shut off it's final coal power plant in the spring of 2016. They have a goal of supplying 100% of its electricity demand from renewables by 2020.
#coalpower #renewables #energy #electricity #cds #cdselectrical
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