Unprecedented wind power surge drives energy prices to historic low in UK, hiting a record-breaking zero.

Record-breaking wind-generated electricity in Northern Ireland and Scotland led to Britain’s power prices falling below zero for a short period on Tuesday night. The country’s national system operator reported that wind output peaked at a record high 22.4 gigawatts, providing over 68% of the country’s power. This record is a significant increase from last week’s low wind output, which saw gas-powered generation account for most of the country’s electricity. The unpredictable weather and refueling outages at some nuclear power plants led to gas-fired plants generating around 70% of the country’s power at times. The UK’s energy system manager estimates that the country needs 22GW of battery storage to manage the volatility of intermittent renewable power supplies. The UK’s Labour government aims to quadruple offshore wind power, double onshore wind, and triple solar by 2030, with a target of 95% green energy. The country’s renewable energy sector has seen a historic shift, with wind power being the largest source of energy in the UK from January to September 2024.