Combination of higher wind speeds, compared to last year, and increased onshore wind capacity led to a rise in wind energy-generated power in the UK in Q3 2016, where offshore wind generation rose from 3.4TWh in 2015 Q3 to 3.5TWh and onshore wind generated 4.6TWh in 2016 Q3, up from 3.8TWh for the same period last year.
Renewable electricity generation in the UK was at 18.8TWh in 2016 Q3, an increase of 0.7TWh (4.3%) compared to 2015 Q3, but 21% lower than the record of 23.7TWh in 2015 Q4.
In terms of wind energy, offshore wind saw an increase 3.8% and onshore rose by 19.4%, according to the latest issue of the UK Government’s Energy Trends and Statistics.
Average wind speeds in 2016 Q3, at 8.3 knots, were the highest for Q3 since 2010, and 6.1% higher than in 2015 Q3. Wind speeds were especially high in September – at 8.9 knots, these were 29 per cent up on a year earlier, the UK Government writes.
Cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind in the UK amounted to 5,094MW, same as in the previous two quarters, but 10MW less than in the 4th quarter of 2015, due to decommissioning of the 2-turbine Beatrice Demonstration project in early 2016.