Total electricity generation from renewables in 2007 amounted to 19,664 GWh, an increase of 1,548 GWh (+8.5%) on 2006. The main contributors to this substantial increase were 917 GWh from onshore wind (+26%), 439 GWh from large scale hydro (+11%), 253 GWh (+6%) from landfill gas, 132 GWh (+20%) from offshore wind, and 94 GWh (+9%) from municipal solid waste combustion. There was a 572 GWh decrease in co-firing of biomass with fossil fuels (-23%).
The increase from large scale hydro was greater than the decrease recorded in 2006, which was attributable to drier weather and took hydro generation to a new record level. Even so, generation from wind (both onshore and offshore) overtook hydro to become the largest renewables technology in output terms, with both closely followed by landfill gas. Co-firing of biomass was the next most prominent. In 2007, 27% of the electricity generated from renewables was from wind, 26% was from hydro sources, 24% from landfill gas, 10% from co-firing, and 13% from other biofuels.
As a result, all renewable sources provided 4.98% of the electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2007, 0.43 percentage points higher than in 2006. This chart shows the growth in the proportion of electricity produced from renewable sources. It includes the progress towards the renewables targets set under the RO and RD.
|
