Renewables deliver 40% of Britain’s power in 2022, Drax report shows

Renewable power covered 40% of Britain’s electricity needs this year, an increase from 35% in 2021, according to the Drax Electric Insights analysis commissioned by UK biomass power generator Drax Group Plc (LON:DRX) and conducted by Imperial College London.

Despite the record levels of cheap renewable electricity, however, the rising fossil fuel costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have caused power prices to almost double.

“The lesson from 2022 is that we need to break our addiction to fossil fuels once and for all if we want lower cost and more secure energy supplies,” Iain Staffell of Imperial College London said in a news release on Thursday.

Britain also saw an increase in gas-fired generation this year, with the fossil fuel share in the power mix reaching 42%, its highest since 2016.

The annual average wholesale price is expected to be above GBP 200 (USD 240.522/EUR 225.863) per MWh, compared to GBP 113 in 2021 and GBP 34 in 2020. Still, Britain became a net exporter of electricity for the first time in more than 10 years with 1.9 TWh of net exports, a stark contrast to the 22.9 TWh in net imports in the previous year.

In 2022, there was also a significant increase in the share of wind generation to a record 28%, up from 23% in 2021.

Renewables helped to reduce the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2.7 million tonnes from last year to 50.1 million tonnes.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.203/EUR 1.129)

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