Karla Lant reported that although Britain has historically run on coal-generated power, the country just went without any for a full 24 hours. This is a first for the area, and it will be the first of many such days to come. The National Grid confirmed that April 21 was the first full day of coal-free power in 135 years, following a relatively long stretch of 19 hours in May 2016. This is not due to any one alternative power source, but to an increasingly varied range of power options. Gridwatch observers estimate that about half of the energy used that day came from natural gas, while the rest of the power burden was shared by nuclear, imported, and renewable energy sources. In fact, half of the power in the U.K. on a day-to-day basis now comes from renewables and nuclear.
In other words, Britain did not go green for 24 hours, but it made a definitive step away from coal dependence. The U.K plans to close its remaining coal power plants by 2025 at the latest, which will mean longer and longer coal-free periods of time as they approach that deadline.
Original working URL: https://futurism.com/britain-goes-24-hours-without-coal-generated-power-for-the-first-time-in-135-years/
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