Renewables now make up 47 per cent of electricity supplies in the UK, with electricity generation up by 6 per cent compared to 2024
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The UK’s fleet of wind, biomass and solar power plants all set new records in 2025, according to analysis from Carbon Brief.
Electricity demand grew for the second year in a row to 322 terrawatt hours (TWh), rising by 4TWh (1 per cent). Renewables supplied more of the UK’s electricity than any other source, making up 47 per cent of the total, followed by gas (28 per cent), nuclear (11 per cent) and net imports (10 per cent).
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The nation also saw new records set for electricity generation from wind (87TWh, up by five per cent), solar (19TWh, up 31 per cent), and biomass (41TWh, up two per cent). As well as this, renewable generation was up overall by six per cent.
In particular, solar benefited from the UK’s sunniest year on record, especially in spring. This contributed to a 5TWh (31 per cent) surge in electricity generation from solar power, helped by a jump of around one-fifth in installed generating capacity.
This new record for solar comes after years of stagnation, with electricity output from the technology climbing just 15 per cent in five years.
UK wind power also set a new record in 2025. Although wind conditions were broadly similar to those in 2024, the uptick in generation can be attributed to additional capacity.
The UK had its first full year ever without any coal power, compared to 2TWh of generation in 2024, before the last coal power plant closed in September 2024.
A small increase of gas was noted – with output from the fuel reaching 91TWh. This was an increase of 5TWh (five per cent).
Nuclear power was at its lowest level in half a century, generating just 36TWh (down by 12 per cent) as most of the remaining fleet was paused for either outages or refuelling.
Despite these promising steps to a greener future, overall, UK electricity became slightly more polluting in 2025. Each kilowatt hour was linked to 126 g of carbon dioxide, up two per cent from the record low of 124g set in 2024.
Other targets set by the UK government were inched towards in 2025, such as 95 per cent of electricity generation to come from low-carbon sources by 2030. However, much more rapid progress will be needed if these goals are to be met.
