· Wind delivers over 10 TWh in 2010, representing 7.7% year-on-year growth
· Growth projections show 3GW+ to be added by 2012
Latest statistics on UK electricity production, released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that compared to Quarter 4 2009, the contribution of wind to the UK’s energy supply in Q4 2010 has increased by 24%.
Significantly, for the first time wind contributed more than 10 terawatt hours (TWh) in a single year, representing growth of 7.7% on 2009.
RenewableUK commented that this is particularly significant in the light of some of the recent media coverage, which suggested that the contribution of wind during the 2010 winter months was negligible.
Alex Murley, RenewableUK’s Head of Technical Affairs, said: “The contribution of wind in 2010 to the UK’s electricity supply was almost 3 times that of hydro, totaling over 10 terawatt hours. This is sufficient electricity for well over 2 million homes. In terms of Quarter 4 2010 all indicators point to the fact that wind delivered a record contribution of electricity to the grid, both 20% higher than Q3 2010 and 24% higher than the comparable Quarter of 2009.”
RenewableUK’s latest estimates show that in addition to the current installed capacity of 5.2 gigawatts (GW), at least 3GW are expected to come on stream by the end of 2012, increasing the annual contribution of wind electricity to around 22 TWh.
“The message from the statistics released today is clear: wind is becoming the dominant renewable technology in terms of consistent growth and units delivered to consumers. Further deployment is set to enhance our energy security and create new low carbon industries,” concluded Murley.
Source: RenewableUK
