NEW ANALYSIS: UK emissions fell 2.4% in 2025 as coal fell to a 400-year low. Incredibly, we used less coal last year than than in 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing Hamlet.
All the details in our article: www.carbonbrief.org/...
Very few new cars are diesel, but hopefully this will be the nudge needed to shift new van sales away from diesel at a much quicker rate.
However I can see how asking them to switch cars - accepting their old vehicle has limited residual value especially due to the various clean air zones / ULEZ - is very challenging. Although in reality it would probably be more efficient for them to scrap car altogether and get taxis instead! 2/2
An elderly neighbour of mine is probably one of the more acceptable cases - I think their car is only used once or twice a week for shopping trips (about 1-2 miles away!). I wouldn't be surprised if the car only does 500 miles per year. I know diesel is inefficient over such distances. 1/2
In Bristol it is now over half, with most urban / suburban buses electric and typically those running out into the surrounding villages and deep into Gloucestershire and Somerset predominantly diesel. Bath depot is being electrified, so that will follow Bristol trend during 2026.
Perhaps the map is correct after all, but we may need to wait until DUKES is released to get the official figures!
Maybe using different sources, BBC report gas at 27% - "Analysis of Neso's figures shows gas generated more than 77TWh - roughly 27% - of electricity, up from 72TWh in 2024." I've just looked and Carbon Brief did their own analysis and this also showed gas marginally ahead of wind.
Meanwhile, many / most of the buses in WECA (Bath and Bristol) are switching to electric.
Also what is going on with Luxembourg moving?!?!?
Natural gas the largest in UK seems unlikely given NESO think wind led the way: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... I know UK is slightly larger than just GB, but GB is the majority and in NI wind also dominates.
Chuck in solar to help offset some of the peak electricity rates and it is even better!
This seems to be a big push I'm seeing as well - probably partly helped by lack of competition from greenfield projects given lack of grid connections! Other commitments meant I was unable to make it to the event this year, but will see what colleagues have to say!
Following on from the US military at Guantanamo Bay.....
Although continued buildout of solar, wind and BESS will help offset this. We are now probably only weeks away from negative midday pricing on sunny weekends.
Higher frequency TFL data seem to suggest tube usage in 2026 YTD fairly static YoY versus 2025. However Overground and Elizabeth line continue to grow. app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrI...
The article calls it "huge". I believe it is actually 4no. relatively distributed turbines totalling 20MW (eg basically the same as a single offshore turbine!).
It seems the "Imerys Wind Farm" is actually separate applications for 4no. single turbines all in close proximity bundled together. There are at least 3 more in planning in the local area, so that is another positive sign.
Agreed, we are not yet at 11.5 hours in the UK but 2+ hours is the norm, with 4+ hours by the end of the decade. Plus, augmentation of existing assets to increase their duration is also growing in importance.
We are starting to see the first constraints for solar on sunny spring weekends, mainly due to solar deployment doing so well (both in GB and elsewhere in Europe meaning we can't export the excess).
They have previously - I think AR6 was the first to award today stream projects support.
Yes.
Many are also relatively small - there are a surprising number of small, single turbine FiT projects where machines much larger are being proposed (and often approved) on the same site.
Interestingly most of the current projects in planning seem to be repowering rather than completely greenfield projects.
Yes. I kite that recent grid reform gives added weight to onshore wind in England, which may offset this slightly.
Thanks for sharing - even if it is incredibly dispiriting!
NEW from us: Rapid expansion of the EV, wind, solar and other clean energy industries drove more than a third of China's GDP growth in 2025, and almost all of the growth in investment, making clean energy essential to meeting economic targets.
I'm not sure how many new schemes we will see. Developments - even with improved planning - will take several years to get consent and then even longer for financing (CFD?) and construction. The next election is by 2029 and both right-wind parties openly hostile to onshore wind, so very risky.
Yes, much of England's existing onshore wind fleet is in East Anglia / Lincolnshire where easy planning and grid availability outweighed the lower wind resource. Similar in Scotland.
Yes, Isle of Wight.
The various ferry routes to the IoW would seem to be an ideal route. A short crossing (under an hour) with turnarounds of 20-30 minutes each end. Also given frequency and closeness to residential properties, the air quality benefits will add up.
