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15% of electricity generated from renewables 06 08 2014

Q3 2014

Almost 15% of the UK's electricity was generated from renewables last year, according to official figures released from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Almost 15% of the UK's electricity was generated from renewables last year, according to official figures released from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The figures show a 30% increase in the power coming from renewables in 2013, bringing the share of electricity from sources such as wind, hydropower and biomass up to 14.9%. More than a third (36%) of the country's electricity was generated from coal, with 27% coming from more expensive gas, and 20% from nuclear power.

The amount of installed renewable capacity was also up 27% on 2012 - with another 4.2 gigawatts of renewables on the system. This was mostly due to a 27% increase in onshore wind, with an extra 1.6 gigawatts installed, and a 59% or 1 gigawatt increase in solar electricity panels, both in small scale domestic and community arrays and large scale solar farms,

The statistics showed that both offshore and onshore wind farms were as efficient as gas-fired power stations, operating at the same or higher percentage of their capacity as gas plants.

Some 5.2% of total energy consumption, which includes heating and transport as well as electricity, came from renewables, up from 4.2% the previous year. The UK has a legally-binding EU target to source 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020.

Alexander Creed, Head of Resources and Energy at Strutt & Parker said: “Clients from all areas of our business are now incorporating renewable energy technologies into their property portfolios, both as a means to reduce their own consumption of fossil fuels and to generate additional income by exporting to the grid. There are a number of technologies available to property owners and, with attractive incentives available from the Government, it is an option that everyone should consider.”

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said that the Government’s investment in renewable energy is “paying off”.

“Renewable electricity has more than doubled in just four years - with around 15% of Britain's electricity already coming from clean renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro,” he said. "This massive investment in green energy is accelerating, with 2013 a record year, with almost £8 billion invested across range of renewable technologies.

Industry body RenewableUK's director of policy, Dr Gordon Edge, said: "More than half of Britain's clean electricity now comes from onshore and offshore wind. We're now on course to hit 10% of electricity from wind alone this year.”