A new report shows the United Kingdom is making major strides in transitioning away from dirty energy sources to clean energy.
The Guardian analyzed data gathered by Carbon Brief showing that dirty energy sources like oil, gas, and coal accounted for a record-low 29% of the U.K.'s electricity in 2024. On the other hand, wind, solar, and nuclear energy doubled that number, generating an all-time high of 58% of the nation's electricity.
The news follows a record summer for clean energy in the U.K., with dirty energy sources generating under 20% of electricity in August. It also follows a major symbolic moment when the last coal plant in the country was shut down in September. In the report, Carbon Brief noted the shift toward cleaner energy has cut down on carbon pollution by more than two-thirds for each unit of electricity.
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Energy independence âš¡ The country's Labour government has set ambitious targets of decarbonizing the electrical grid by 2030. The U.K. Energy Research Centre said boosting the 58% number of low-carbon electrical sources to 95% by the end of the decade makes for "very little room for error," per the Guardian.
Still, the trajectory is undoubtedly positive for the U.K. The country is at the forefront of next-gen renewable energy technologies like offshore floating wind. In the fall, the country also announced plans to fund 131 clean energy projects that will power around 11 million British homes. These include a 120-mile cable linking Northern England to Scotland with wind farms that connect to power stations.
Not everything is rosy in the grid transition, though. Grid operators accused dirty energy plants of predatory behavior recently during times of low power generation. The positive stories outweigh the negatives, though. One further exciting example is a shuttered coal plant in Scotland that is making way for Europe's largest battery storage project.
As the world faces record-setting temperatures and a rise in extreme weather, moving away from burning dirty energy that accelerates the warming of the planet is an important step.
For the U.K., gas still holds the top spot in electricity generation, as it edges out wind 28 to 26%, per Carbon Brief. That is expected to change next year, though, providing further evidence that the British move to clean energy is here to stay.
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