UK goes a week without coal power for the first time since the industrial revolution

For the first time since 1882, the UK has managed a whole week of energy supply without using coal at all. This landmark event comes in the wake of a government pledge to phase out coal fired electricity supply by 2025.

On May 1st, every coal fired power plant in the UK was shut down, with none restarting until the morning of Wednesday 8th May, making a whole week without coal. The previous record of 90 hours, set during the Easter weekend in April, was thoroughly smashed by this new achievement. Over the course of 2019, the UK has gone for more than 1,000 hours without coal, with the year set to break all previous records.

The last time the UK wasn’t reliant on coal power for a week, Queen Victoria sat on the throne and the industrial revolution was just beginning. This achievement marks an important step towards a future free from dirty coal fired power stations.

Over the past decade, the UK has relied on coal to provide around a third of its electricity need. However, today we get around a third from renewables, and much of the rest from other sources including nuclear and gas. Over the course of 2019, coal is expected to contribute only around 1% of the total UK energy need and will be phased out entirely by 2025.

Although a week without coal is undoubtedly a great achievement, it’s not without its flaws. Ideally, it would have been great to see that missing power need provided instead by renewable energy. However, according to New Scientist , only 23% of the UK’s electricity was provided by renewables during this coal-free week.