Peak output from British wind farms surpassed 14 GW – the first occasion on which wind energy in Britain has beaten nuclear by itself. Last quarter, the combined amount of power from wind and solar overtook nuclear generation in Britain, but in the first quarter of 2018, wind produced 15,560 GWh of electricity – 30 GWh more than nuclear.
Britain’s wind farms produced 18.8 percent of electricity over the quarter, and at their peak they supplied 47.3 percent of the country’s demand (another new record). This happened overnight on March 17th, when temperatures once again dipped below freezing. There has been much debate on whether wind can be relied upon during a cold, calm spell, but during the six sub-zero days this quarter, wind provided between 12 percent and 43 percent of electricity demand, operating at a minimum of 4.4 GW.
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