National Grid's Electricity System Operator joins global alliance of governments, businesses, and organisations committed to quitting coal
National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) is joining an international alliance of countries and businesses pledging to phase out coal, it announced today.
The company said it will join the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) as "an example of its commitment to play a pivotal role in bringing all parts of the industry together to address the challenges of decarbonisation".
The PPCA was established in November 2017 by the UK and Canadian governments, in a bid to accelerate the global shift away from coal-fired power, the most polluting fossil fuel. To date 30 countries, 22 sub-national governments, and 31 businesses and organisations have joined the Alliance.
National Grid split its Electricity System Operator and Electricity Transmission arms into separate companies within National Grid earlier this year. Today's announcement applies only to the ESO arm, which balances energy demand in Great Britain and has a goal to operate a zero-carbon electricity system by 2025.
The prospect of a coal-free grid is fast becoming reality. In May Britain enjoyed a record two-week stretch without coal power, a feat that has been repeated at least once more in recent weeks. According to National Grid, the carbon intensity of the British electricity system has halved over the last five years, with 2019 set to be the greenest year on record.
Speaking at the EU Commission's Coal Regions in Transition Platform event today in Strasbourg, director Fintan Slye will promise National Grid ESO would share best practices for managing a coal phase out with other system operators around the world.
"We've been planning how to manage increasing levels of renewables for many years," he said in a statement issued ahead of the event. "This means that network investments have been made and grid operator services have been procured such that we can operate a network with no coal."
"But it's not without its challenges and initiatives like the PPCA, which encourage greater sharing and cooperation across the industry, are vital," he added. "Being able to run our system without coal for two weeks was only possible working in partnership across the industry, and we look forward to engaging with colleagues on a global stage to help the transition to cleaner forms of energy."