But Imperial College London analysis warns emerging technologies and negative emission power plants are likely to be needed to unlock full decarbonisation of the grid
Another record year for renewables saw clean power sources overtake fossil fuels on Britain's grid for the first time in 2020, but new nuclear and emerging technologies such as hydrogen and bioenergy carbon capture and storage are likely to be required to deliver a fully decarbonised energy system.
That is the conclusion of new research released today by Imperial College London on behalf of energy firm Drax, which estimates that carbon emissions from Britain's grid fell by 16 per cent last year as a result of the growth of green power and plummeting energy demand during Covid-19 lockdowns.
Wind and solar alone generated around 30 per cent of Britain's electricity in 2020, while biomass provided seven per cent, and hydropower made up 1.6 per cent. Nuclear power, meanwhile, provided 17.5 per cent of Britain's power last year, while imports accounted for just under seven per cent.
Overall, it means wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass sources together supplied 38.5 per cent of Britain's electricity in 2020, rising to 56 per cent when nuclear power is included.
In contrast, fossil fuel sources made up 39.6 per cent of Britain's power supplies, with coal supplying just 1.6 per cent as more plants shuttered last year in preparation for the government's proposed 2024 coal power phase-out deadline.
The results therefore mark the first time that renewable power - including wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass - supplied more of Britain's electricity than fossil fuels. The findings echo a similar analysis last month by think tank Ember, which similarly concluded renewables had become Britain's dominant power source in 2020.
"2020 saw Britain edge closer to the power system of the future with renewables generating more power than fossil fuels," said Imperial College London's Dr Iain Staffell, lead author of today's analysis. "Flexible technologies like pumped hydro storage kept the system stable as supply from renewables increased and demand for power fell."
However, Staffell said the UK still had a race on its hands to deliver enough clean power capacity to meet its climate change targets in the coming years, arguing that renewables, nuclear, clean hydrogen, and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) would all have a key role to play in delivering a fully decarbonised grid.
He highlighted forecasts from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) that the share of electricity generated from wind and solar would have to reach around 50 per cent as early as 2025, climbing to 69 per cent by the end of the decade, if the UK is to stay on track to meet its net zero emissions target by 2050.
"The next steps we must take towards a net zero power system will be more challenging - driving out the last sources of fossil carbon will require us to go beyond just having more wind and solar power," Staffell warned. "New business models, backed by policy and investment, will be needed to bring advanced-but-proven technologies into the mainstream. This means that the electricity used in homes, hospitals, offices and factories could even be carbon negative - sourced from a range of low, zero carbon and negative emissions technologies."
It comes as Drax gears up to announce its annual financial results for 2020 later this month, when it is also expected to provide further clarity over the future of its proposed 3.2GW gas power plant in North Yorkshire, which has been the subject of legal challenges over its potential climate impact.
The project looked set to have cleared the final planning hurdle after the Court of Appeal upheld the government's decision to back the gas plant, but reports last week suggest Drax is now considering shelving the project.