GAS, WIND, NUCLEAR... HOW WE GOT OUR POWER LAST FRIDAY

AMID serious concerns about future supplies, a snapshot of one day’s electricity production in Britain makes fascinating reading.

Data from the National Grid shows how dependent we are on gas – but that wind power creates an increasingly high proportion of our needs.

Our electricity comes from several sources: gas, nuclear, wind, hydro, biomass, imports and the sun. But amounts vary considerably depending on the season, weather and time of day.

Figures for last Friday show that at noon, the sun supplied 15.3 per cent of the UK’s overall energy.

Wind was the biggest power source that day, responsible for almost 40 per cent of the energy mix at midday.

Nuclear energy offers consistent levels of power around the clock – providing more than a fifth of our energy in the early hours of Friday.

Biomass fuel, made by burning wood and other organic matter, is the UK’s second-largest source of renewable electricity. And whereas Britain once relied on coal, that accounted for just 0.6 per cent of supply between April and June – and none on Friday.

Imported energy hit 9 per cent of the total on Friday night, but hydropower production was minimal.