As climate protests dominated the news agenda, the UK grid managed an unbroken 90 hours without generating electricity from coal
The UK has yet again smashed its coal-free power generation record, having managed more than 90 hours straight without generating any electricity from coal power plants over the Easter Weekend, National Grid confirmed yesterday.
The coal-free period, which came to an end on Monday afternoon, ran for 90 hours and 45 minutes - more than three-and-a-half days - marking the longest unbroken period without coal power stations generating since the Industrial Revolution.
Over the period, low carbon sources delivered over half the UK's power with just 42 per cent of the UK's electricity mix coming from gas and seven per cent from imports. A further 23 per cent came from nuclear, with 12 per cent from wind, 11 per cent from solar, four per cent from biomass, and one per cent from large hydropower.
This #Coal-free run ended at 90 Hours 45 Minutes.
— UK Coal (@UK_Coal) April 22, 2019
This is a modern record for Great Britain
Generation during this time was met by: Gas 42%, Nuclear 23%, Wind 12%, Solar 11%, Imports 7%, Biomass 4%, Large Hydro 1%, Storage 0% pic.twitter.com/Ii5RCjqTZK
The performance smashes the previous record set a year ago, when the UK went more than 76 hours without generating any electricity from coal.
Coal has continued to drop off the grid in recent years as the UK's capacity for cheap, clean electricity from renewables such as wind and solar grows.
Earlier this month, National Grid revealed that during the first quarter of 2019, the UK grid clocked up a total of 650 hours of coal-free generation, surpassing the number of coal-free hours delivered during the whole of 2017.
The record is part of a global trend that has seen a host of countries sign up to the international Powering Past Coal Alliance and project pipelines for new coal plants contract as competition from gas and renewables has intensified.
The weakening investment outlook for coal has also been noted by leading financial firms, with a growing number of companies limiting their exposure to coal assets or divesting from coal firms altogether.
Last week, two of Europe's leading insurers - Talanx and Hannover Re - became the latest major firms to further tighten their underwriting policies for coal-fired power plants, bringing the total number of global insurers which have taken action to limit their coal exposure to 13, according to campaign group Unfriend Coal.
The two firms, which are both part of the Talanx Group, said they would terminate the reinsurance of newly-planned coal-fired power plants or mines, as well as restricting investments in fossil fuels.
Talanx Group said it would retain its existing policy of not making any new investments in companies that generate more than 25 per cent of their revenues from fossil fuel sources, as well as expanding its investments in renewables and clean technologies. And, on the underwriting side of its business, the firm said it would no longer write any risks associated with planned new coal-fired power plants and coal mines, with a view to eradicating its business from coal altogether by 2038.
Lucie Pinson, European coordinator for Unfriend Coal, welcomed the two insurers' announcements, but called for further details on precisely how they intended to limit their exposure to coal plants and mines to zero by 2038 as pledged.
"Climate science makes it very clear that there is no room for new coal and no exceptions should be granted, especially when coal fired capacity is more expensive than existing renewable capacity," she said. "Hannover Re and Talanx must immediately commit to not allow any exception for new coal."