As the year draws to a close it’s worth looking back at the great achievements that have been made this year on the path to net zero, using data published by the Electricity System Operator
Early in January the record for the maximum generation from low carbon sources (wind, solar and nuclear) was broken with the grid operating at nearly 90% low carbon
Later in January we achieved nearly 22 GW from wind power alone, while in April almost 11 GW of solar was generated
By September we achieved the lowest ever carbon intensity on the grid at 27 gCO2/kWh
The only record not broken this year has been “hours without coal” which was set in 2020 during the covid pandemic and before the war in Ukraine pushed up electricity exports to the continent
As the journey to net zero continues, Wales will play a crucial role in the U.K. with offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea off the north coast, and Celtic Sea off Pembroke, generating twice the electricity needed by Wales and “exporting” the rest to England
It is the windy Welsh sea that will power us to net zero, employ thousands building and servicing the wind farms and ensure a just transition
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