By Kate Brown
In the longest streak since the 1880’s, Britain has not generated electricity from coal for over three days. The coal free period began on 22 April 2018 at 1000 BST. Power has instead been generated from wind and gas for users in England, Scotland and Wales. However, criticism has been raised over replacing coal with gas which is not a renewable source.
Last week, the UK also saw the first two-day period without generating electricity from fossil fuel, which the government has pledge to phase out by 2025.
Last year, coal accounted for less than 7% of the power mix, according to official figures.
The 2008 Climate Change Act requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 80% compared with 1990 levels by 2050. Andrew Crossland, of the Durham Energy Institute, called for more investment in renewable technologies, such as solar panels and batteries, to store power for homes and businesses, along with better energy efficiency to reduce power use.
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