Grid records highest amount of UK wind energy so far
17 September 2012
RenewableUK reports new figures from National Grid which show that a record-breaking amount of electricity was generated by wind on Friday (September 14).
Hagshaw Hill (photo courtesy of ScottishPower)
Wind turbines fed an all-time high of 4.131 gigawatts into the National Grid at 09.56am on Friday (September 14) morning – enough to power more than 3 million British homes. An average large power station can generate a gigawatt, so the record equates to the output of more than four conventional power stations.
Just before 10 o'clock, wind power was supplying a total of 10.8% of the total amount of electricity going into the grid.
This high breaks the previous record of 3.8GW set on the May 13 2012.
The overall statistics for wind energy generation are even higher, because a third of all wind turbine capacity in the UK is connected directly to local electricity networks, and not to the Grid. Once that extra 2.2GW are taken into account, the amount of electricity being generated is even greater – up to a third more.