Wind turbines produced more energy in the first quarter of the year than in any other previous three-month period on record.
Renewable sources, overall, also created more power than coal and gas for just the second time, according to market specialist EnAppSys.
“This has only ever happened once before, in the first quarter of 2020.” said Paul Verrill, EnAppSys director.
On average, wind generates approximately 20% of total British power, with gas at 35%, nuclear at 16% and coal, which is meant to be fully phased out by 2024, responsible for just 2%.
In the quarter just ended, however, wind produced 23.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) – about 31% of total demand – beating its previous record of 23 TWh at the start of 2020, EnAppSys added.
Since 2008, the capacity of power generation from turbines increased over five-fold to 25 gigawatts across land and sea.
This made up almost 70% of all energy made from renewable sources.
Renewables in the UK, particularly wind energy, are a key plankof the government's new energy strategy which is driving the shift to net-zero carbon emissions.
Despite this, surging gas and coal prices on global shortages and Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine pushed UK average energy bills up by over 50% to nearly £2,000 in April.
Gas determines the electricity price more than any other energy source, said teh consultancy.
“Record fuel prices meant this was one of the most expensive quarters in the GB market’s history,” EnAppSys added.