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Britain has broken its record for using energy generated from sources other than coal during the hot Easter weekend.

National Grid said the UK recorded its longest ever continuous coal-free period over the bank holiday weekend, lasting more than 90 hours.

It marks the longest stretch of time in which the UK’s electricity has been produced by other means since before the industrial revolution, which began in the 1700s.

The 90-hour mark, which ran up to Monday afternoon, well outpaced the previous record of 76 hours set in April 2018.

Duncan Burt, director of operations at National Grid, said the long weekend marked “another significant step towards a zero-carbon power grid” in the UK.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each enjoyed their warmest Easter Sunday on record, according to the Met Office said.

Mr Burt said the previous record was broken thanks to a “sweet spot” in conditions, where the warm weather stopped people from using their central heating, overall energy usage went down due to more people being outside, but temperatures were not so warm that people needed to stay indoors and use air conditioning.

He said ideal conditions for the National Grid see warm sunshine in the south and wind in the North and in Scotland, creating conditions that mean a high production of both solar and wind power.

Over the bank holiday, gas still made up a sizeable chunk of electricity usage, and Britain was still required to import power from Europe. Nuclear energy made up about 25 per cent.

A report published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) earlier this year showed the UK used more coal-free power in the first three months of 2019 than in the entirety of 2017.

Energy and Clean Growth minister Claire Perry said: “Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, which is why we’ve committed to phasing it out entirely from our energy mix by 2025 as we help lead the world in the transition to cleaner technologies.”

But environmental campaigners have warned that while an increase in renewable energy is positive, gas and other fossil fuels are also replacing coal.

Muna Suleiman, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, told the BBC: “89 hours of coal-free electricity is great, but let’s make this all day every day.

“Electricity generated by renewable sources is a key part of the fight against climate chaos, so it’s time to remove all the blockers to renewable energy.

“The Government must prioritise the development of sources such as solar and onshore wind.”

The Labour Party has also questioned Government policy, and said its fracking plans will release the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as creating 300 million brand news cars.

A reliance on gas also makes the UK vulnerable to international markets, according to Friends of the Earth, which said the energy source isn’t clean enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions in line with the country’s legal targets.

The 2008 Climate Change Act requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 80 per cent – when compared to 1990 levels – by 2050.

Source: inews.co.uk

Gas boilers will be replaced by low-carbon heating systems in all new homes built after 2025 in an attempt to tackle the escalating climate crisis, Philip Hammond has said.

In his spring statement, the chancellor said new properties would use alternative systems, such as heat pumps, to help the UK reduce its carbon emissions.

However, Hammond appeared to row back on implementing the full recommendations from the government’s advisory committee on climate change last month, which called for new homes to have no gas for cooking or heating from 2025.

The move away from gas heating in new homes was given a cautious welcome by environmental groups, although they said the chancellor had to be more ambitious, systemic and radical if the government was to get to grips with the climate emergency.

Housebuilders said they supported moves to more environmentally sustainable systems, but alternative heating was often more expensive and less effective.

A spokesperson for the Home Builders Federation said the ongoing “costs and comfort of homeowners was an absolute priority” for its members, pointing out that heat pumps required bigger radiators and did not work as well in cold snaps.

“New technologies are increasingly being incorporated that drive down emissions and we are committed to continuing to work with government on this … [however] it must be ensured that alternative heat sources are suitably attractive, available and efficient before withdrawing existing options,” he said.

The report from the committee on climate change said it would cost £4,800 to install low-carbon heating in a new home, but £26,300 in an existing house.

Around 14% of UK greenhouse gas emissions come from homes and last year emissions from housing increased – mainly from gas boilers.

The committee said that to meet the UK’s existing climate targets, considered too weak by many, all homes would have to virtually eliminate emissions in the future.

However, a spokesman for the Treasury said no funding had been allocated to support the move to sustainable heating systems, adding that the plan would go out to consultation later this year.

Hammond’s announcement on gas boilers was one of a series of environmental measures unveiled in his statement, alongside the protection of the waters around Ascension Island in the Atlantic, a new carbon offset scheme for aviation and a comprehensive global review of the link between biodiversity and economic growth, led by Prof Partha Dasgupta.

But environmental groups said the measures did not go far enough.

Mel Evans, a senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said although the plan to end fossil fuels in new homes was vital – and she welcomed the measures to protect wildlife – tackling the climate crisis required bigger thinking.

“Issues like the shoddy state of our existing housing stock and rapid adoption of electric vehicles require serious money behind serious policies,” such as banning new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, she said.

Dave Timms, from Friends of the Earth, said: “The chancellor should have announced a massive programme of investment in home insulation and public transport, instead of pushing the false solution of carbon offsetting for aviation.”

Prof Sam Fankhauser, from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, said the move was a “welcome step towards reducing carbon emissions” that had the potential to “significantly reduce emissions, especially if these are accompanied by measures to make homes more energy efficient.

“To be fully effective, stringent standards for new homes need to be complemented by more funding for energy efficiency upgrades in existing homes, such as for insulation and better boilers.”

Source: The Guardian

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UK goes coal-free for record-breaking 90 hours during hot Easter weekend weather

Low-carbon heating to replace gas in new UK homes after 2025