In the past decades, the consumption of renewable energy has increased rapidly in the United Kingdom, growing from roughly 0.11 exajoules in 2000 to some 1.43 exajoules in 2023. In 2019, the United Kingdom became the first large economy globally to enact a carbon neutrality law, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. To reach the said target, furthering the use of renewable energies is paramount. The UK has set to reach a target of at least 50 gigawatts of
by 2030, in addition to 69 gigawatts of unspecified renewable capacity.
Main renewable energy sources in the UK
While renewables provide roughly 46 of the
country's power, the majority of it is generated by wind energy. Wind power experienced the highest growth rates, with
onshore and offshore wind farms generating roughly 32,6 and 49.7 terawatt hours of electricity in 2023, respectively. By comparison, in 2000, the combined onshore and offshore wind power production amounted to 946 gigawatt hours of electricity. The growth in energy production is also reflected in the number of renewable facilities. In 2022, renewable energy generation had seen an increase in its
number of sites in many of its sources, totaling more than a million sites. Unsurprisingly,
wind power plant capacity amounted to 30.2 gigawatts and
solar photovoltaic sites offered a cumulative capacity of 16.2 gigawatts in 2023.
United Kingdom's second biggest source of renewable electricity
Bioenergy is the
second greatest contributor to renewable electricity generation after combined wind power, producing some 34 terawatt hours of power in 2023. Bioenergy uses bio-based fuels that include power sourced from waste combustion, animal biomass, plant biomass, and anaerobic digestion. Both sewage gas and landfill gas are a form of bioenergy. In terms of utilization efficiency,
sewage gas has one of the greatest load factors of renewable sources in the UK. The annual average noted only slight fluctuations, between 41 and 49 percent. By comparison,
figures for landfill gas declined from nearly 60 percent in 2010 to 32.3 percent in 2023.
The future of renewables in the UK
In the next years, the use of renewable energy is forecast to grow in the United Kingdom, specially wind energy. By 2030, the country expects to reach a cumulative wind power capacity of at least 50 gigawatts, additionally to 69 gigawatts of other renewable energy sources. The UK also plans to reach a renewable electricity share of 85 percent by 2030, up from roughly 46 percent in 2023.
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