In 2023, the UK’s electricity supply was greener than ever – and there are no signs of it stopping. Let’s find out more.
Things are going well for green energy in the UK. Three pieces of news from the last month give massive cause for optimism. In this article, we’ll tell you all about them.
Record year for green electricity
2023 was Britain’s greenest electricity year. Fossil fuels only accounted for 35% of the country’s electricity supply, a significant decrease from 43% in the previous year.
Part of the reason for this fall was a switch away from gas-fired power stations at home to greener energy imported from other countries, including France (nuclear power) and Norway (hydro). Imports now make up 9% of the UK’s electricity mix. In 2022, the UK was a net electricity exporter, helping other European countries stabilise their supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This trend reversed in 2023. Imports from abroad are greener and help keep consumers’ bills lower.
As well as changes on the supply side of the energy equilibrium, there were changes to demand too. Driven by the cost of living crisis and high energy prices, the UK’s power demand fell to a record low in 2023.
While this is all excellent news, there are still some reasons to be cautious. Despite more wind power capacity coming online in 2023, there was a reduction in wind-powered output from the UK. This is due to less windy weather conditions throughout the year. In addition, experts predict electricity demand is likely to rise in the coming years as more people get electric cars and electric heat pumps for their homes.
Hornsea 3
Next, the Danish multinational energy firm Orsted confirmed it’s developing the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the UK waters of the North Sea. Hornsea 3, as it will be called, is expected to be completed by late 2027 and provides an extra 2.9GW capacity, enough to power more than 3 million homes in Britain.
The project is expected to cost around £11 billion. In a stroke of luck, Orsted managed to get most capital expenditure contracts in place before rising costs wreaked havoc on the offshore wind industry.
Hornsea 3 will be a significant development for the UK’s green economy. It will help the country become more energy secure, as well as send out positive signals on the state of the offshore wind industry here.
Viking Link
Finally, Viking Link, the world’s longest land and undersea interconnector began commercial operations.
The link, which joins the UK and Denmark’s power grids for the first time, runs from Bicker Fen substation in Lincolnshire to the Revsing station in South Jutland. It stretches for 475 miles and will initially operate at 800MW capacity.
The benefits of Viking Link are that it should reduce CO2 emissions by 600,000 tonnes in its first year, saving UK consumers £500 million over a decade. That’s great for the planet, as well as consumers’ wallets.
It’s been a while coming; construction began in 2019, and operations were initially slated to start in January 2021, before delays in cable supply derailed the project. However, the success of Viking Link has led to future interconnector plans. The National Grid, a partner in Viking Link, is now investigating new interconnectors to the Netherlands (Lion Link) and Belgium (Nautilus Link).
Looking to the future
It’s cheering to read good news about the UK’s energy industry, particularly after an energy crisis that has hit suppliers and consumers hard. It’s projects like Hornsea 3 and Viking Link that make the UK able to say it’s just had a record year for green electricity. If the industry can keep on investing in greener, more efficient energy, we’re sure to see other records being set in the future. Let’s hope it continues.