British Grid Hits Record 88% Zero-Carbon Power Generation

(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s power grid delivered the cleanest energy on record to households and businesses across the country early Wednesday.

A record 87.6% of power generated into the grid came from zero-carbon sources like wind, nuclear and hydropower, according to data from National Grid Plc’s Electricity System Operator. The data is a snapshot from about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Rising generation from renewables has helped the country to reduce its dependence on more expensive and polluting gas-fired power stations. Turbines have recently produced more power than ever, but periods of low wind can cause issues for the grid, which often needs to pay a premium to turn up gas-fired stations.

On Wednesday morning, 67% of Britain’s power came from wind, with 19% from nuclear and 9.5% from gas-fired power stations. A wind generation record was set on Dec. 30, with almost 21 gigawatts of output.

--With assistance from .

(Updates with chart.)

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