Wind power could overtake gas generation in UK this year — Ember
The group’s analysis of UK power usage in 2024, published today (10 December), shows that 2024 marks a milestone in the UK’s energy transition, with renewables set to generate more electricity than fossil fuels.
Ember’s report shows that renewable energy sources, including wind, solar and hydropower, is due to contribute 37% of all electricity generation across 2024 – exceeding the lower total due to be generated by fossil fuels such oil and gas (35%).
As a contrast, the report’s authors point out that fossil fuels generated 46% of UK electricity just three years ago in 2021, with low-carbon renewables generating 27% that year.
“The renewables future is here. This long-awaited milestone is a testament to how much progress the UK has made. It’s time to seize the moment, to cut reliance on expensive gas with new renewables, storage, and grid upgrades. With the phase-out of coal power completed this year, reducing gas use is the next big opportunity for the country,” said Frankie Mayo, senior energy and climate analyst at Ember.
Wind leads
Wind power is the standout contributor to this significant milestone, according to Ember, which based its annual figures on UK generation data gathered between January and November 2024.
Ember said wind energy alone is due to account for 29% of all electricity generation in the UK this year, totalling 82TWh, just 3TWh or 1% less than gas (85TWh, 30%).
The report described how wind generation outpaced gas power for the first three quarters of 2024, and faltered slightly amid generally lower wind speeds towards the end of the year.
Nevertheless, wind could still exceed gas as the single largest electricity generation source in the UK this year, with the current margin of 1% between the two meaning it is still too close to call.
“With final totals dependent on wind speeds, interconnector flows and overall demand in December, it is too close to call whether wind power will overtake gas to become the UK’s largest source of electricity in 2024. Nonetheless along with wind, solar and hydropower overtaking all generation from fossil sources, this is another sign of the transformations underway on the road to a clean power system in 2030,” Ember states.
Wind power generation increased 1.5% in 2024, Ember’s report shows, mainly thanks to an increase in onshore wind generation.
“There was a 23% increase in onshore wind generation in the first three quarters of 2024, the second largest percentage growth since 2017, a result of slightly increased capacity and improved wind speeds,” it states.
The findings of the report bolster the ruling Labour government’s ambition to turn the UK into a “clean energy superpower” and offer further justification for the government’s swift overturning of what it called an “absurd” de-facto ban on onshore ban in England introduced under the former Conservative government.