Great Britain’s National Energy System Operator (NESO) ran the transmission network with a record high of 98.8% zero carbon sources between 3.30 and 4pm on 22 April, surpassing the previous zero-carbon record of 97.7% on 1 April 2025.
Gas reached an historic low of 1.2% of the energy mix at both the transmission and distribution levels. It means zero-carbon energy sources were producing enough electricity on the transmission network to power nearly all 28 million homes and 5 million businesses across the country.
It’s also thought solar has hit two maximum records on two consecutive days with distribution-connected solar confirmed to have generated a new high of 14.8GW.
Solar is then believed to have surpassed 15 GW on 23 April, with the previous maximum record of 14.4 GW reached earlier this month on the 7 April.
The news comes four weeks to the day that Britain broke the wind record, when the other leading renewable source generated 23.9 GW of electricity on 25 March.
Last year saw renewables – solar, wind, hydro and biomass – produce a record 44% of Britain’s electricity, up from just 3% in the year 2000. Solar was the biggest success story of 2025, seeing the biggest single rise, reaching 6.5% across the year – up nearly a third on 2024.
Britain now has five of the largest wind farms in the world off its shores. The UK Government aims to double onshore wind and quadruple offshore wind by 2030 as part of its plan for clean power.
In 2024 Britain became one of the only countries in the world to entirely stop using coal to generate electricity – the first time since the 1880s.
Kayte O’Neill, Chief Operating Officer, National Energy System Operator (NESO) said:
“This world-leading zero-carbon record underlines the resilience of Britain’s national electricity system, which is again showing it can be run safely and securely on large quantities of homegrown renewables.
“With more and more solar and wind records being broken, you can now be more confident than ever that when you turn on the washing machine or power up your laptop, that it’s likely being powered by clean green electricity.
“Hitting 98.8% zero-carbon really shows what is possible, and I look forward to seeing if we can break the ultimate record of running Britain’s electricity grid entirely zero carbon in the months ahead.”
Energy Minister, Michael Shanks, said:
“We are hitting records left, right and centre as we accelerate towards clean power.
“Every single time we smash another record for renewable energy we are protecting the British public more from fossil fuel price spikes and taking back control of our energy security at home.”
