The UK was powered without coal for three days in a row over the Easter weekend. National Grid said that the coal-free period lasted more than 90 hours before coming to an end on Easter Monday afternoon.
This is longest period in which the UK’s electricity has been produced by means other than coal since before the industrial revolution, which began in the 1700s and smashes the previous record set in April 2018 of 76 hours and 10 minutes.
Duncan Burt, director of operations at National Grid, told BBC Radio 5 Live it was "a really big deal". He remarked "It's all about the sunny weather we've been seeing, so energy demand is low. There has been lots of lovely solar power off the panels too."
Industry commentators expect more milestones this year. “Ever rising renewable capacity in the UK will see these records fall more and more frequently, clearly showing progress made over the past decade or two,” said Jonathan Marshall, an analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.
Coal made up less than 10% of the country's energy mix last year and will be less than that again in 2019, according to National Grid. Over the first quarter of 2019, coal produced only 2.9 TWh – down 37.2% from the previous quarter and down 65% from the same quarter a year earlier – while renewable energy sources generated 27.2 TWh over the same first quarter period.
Coal has historically been at the forefront of the UK’s electricity mix but government intends to phase out the UK’s remaining coal power plants by 2025 and aims for wind generation to provide a third of the country’s electricity by 2030.
However, some have stressed the reduction in coal was largely being replaced by gas, another fossil fuel, rather than renewable sources.
Muna Suleiman, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "89 hours of coal-free electricity is great but let's make this all day every day.
"Electricity generated by renewable sources is a key part of the fight against climate chaos so it's time to remove all the blockers to renewable energy.
"The government must prioritise the development of sources such as solar and onshore wind."
It was not only the UK which saw new records in power generation over the Easter period. In Germany power production from renewable sources reached a record high on Easter Monday when renewable installations such as wind and solar PV generated 77% of net public electricity supply thanks to strong winds and abundant sunshine, according to research institute Fraunhofer ISE. Wind power provided 40% of total net power, solar 20%, and biomass 10%.
