Wind energy exceeds coal in 2016

The government has pledged to remove coal from the UK's energy mix completely by 2025, but it is now expected that the final plant will actually close within five years.

2016 has seen a number of important milestones for energy generation in the UK, with days on which no power at all was supplied by coal-fired power stations and a record amount of electricity (40%) supplied by windfarms, biomass power stations and other renewable sources on Christmas Day. Solar energy also produced more electricity than coal for a full six months in 2016.

Energy generated by gas-fired power stations in 2016 increased by 45% year on year. Gas produces roughly half the amount of carbon dioxide as coal, so it contributes considerably less to climate change.

The UK's energy infrastructure is changing, with a shift from large centralised power stations to large numbers of smaller, often renewable energy producers.

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