Renewables generation in Great Britain saw a 31% surge in the third quarter of 2015 compared to the same period a year earlier, driven in part by a 23% increase in the combined output from both offshore and onshore wind generation, the energy and power markets analyst EnAppSys said in its ”GB Electricity Market Summary.”
The percentage of electricity sourced from renewable sources surpassed the levels generated by coal in the third quarter, according to the report.
Overall, 20.2% of generation in the quarter ended September 30 came from renewable sources, while 17.8% came from coal plants.
Offshore and onshore wind farms produced 41.1% of the electricity generated by renewables, EnAppSys says.
Levels of renewable generation are now almost twice the levels they were in Q3 2013, with levels of overall generation having climbed 79% from 8.0TWh (3.6GW) to 14.3TWh (6.5GW).
Since 2009, wind has been the largest source of renewable generation in the third quarter of the year, with wind farms generating 5.9TWh (2.7GW) in Q3 2015; contributing over 40% of renewable generation and over 8% of total generation from all sources.