UK renewable power hits record high but gas generation also rises

Renewable power such as wind and solar provided a record 52.5 per cent of Britain’s electricity generation ​in 2025, government data has shown, ‌but fossil fuel use also rose.

Britain has a target to largely decarbonise its electricity sector by 2030, which will require ​a huge scale-up of renewable power.

Renewable generation in ​2025 reached a record 152.5 terawatt hours, ⁠up 5.7 per cent from 2024, driven by record output from ​offshore wind, solar and bioenergy, data from the Department ​for Energy Security and Net Zero showed.

Gas power generation rose by 4.7 per cent and was the largest single source of electricity ​supplies, providing 31.5 per cent of total generation.

Offshore wind generation ​increased by 6.6 per cent in 2025 as more capacity was added.

Higher gas ‌and ⁠renewables plugged a drop in nuclear generation which fell by 12 per cent to 35.9 TWh, with older plants decommissioned and increased outages across the ageing fleet.

Last year ​was the first ​in more ⁠than 140 years with no coal-fired power generation in the country after the ​last plant closed in 2024.

Net electricity imports ​fell ⁠11 per cent from 2024’s record high to 29.7 TWh.

Total electricity demand increased slightly, up 0.2 per cent to 320.2 TWh.

Separately, the ⁠government ​said on Thursday that greenhouse gas ​emissions fell 2 per cent in Britain in 2025, with emissions from the electricity sector ​down 1 per cent.