Energy records broken over the May bank holiday weekend

Energy records broken over the May bank holiday weekend

Great Britain’s power system experienced record lows of carbon emissions over the May bank holiday weekend. These achievements were due to high levels of solar and wind generation and a lower demand for energy in general.

An electricity tracker at Drax found that Saturday (23/5/20) was the lowest carbon day ever. The average carbon intensity averaged at 61g CO2/kWh. In addition to this, Sunday (24/5/20) afternoon saw the lowest dip in carbon intensity ever, dropping to 18g CO2/kWh for over an hour. During this period, 65% of the power was sourced from renewable energy.

Furthermore, the current low demand in electricity alongside the high levels of solar and wind generation saw wholesale electricity prices fall to a record low on Friday 22nd May. The analysis by Drax commented “across the whole 24-hour period, the average day-ahead wholesale price was negative £9.92 per MWh – more than twice as low as the previous record, set on Sunday 8 December 2019, of negative £4.62/MWh. In the early hours of Friday morning, the day-ahead price was as low as negative £52.03 per MWh.”

The current coronavirus lockdown measures have seen a drop in electricity demand. This drop has prompted the International Energy Agency to forecast a 5% drop in global electricity this year, which will result in the lowest drop since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

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