National Grid has confirmed that 21 April was the first coal-free day in Great Britain since 1882, when the world's first coal-fired power station opened in London.
The energy network operator said that after the West Burton one power station was taken offline on 20 April, electricity generation over the next 24 hours did not include coal as part of the energy mix.
A spokesperson said the achievement set down a marker, with coal-free days becoming increasingly common as the fuel is phased out. Recent data from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy revealed that between 1990 and 2015 coal use in generation declined by 63%.
Provisional figures for 2016 show that coal’s share of generation decreased from 22.3% to 9.1%, reaching a record low of 30.7 TWh (down 59% on 75.6 TWh in 2015).
The department said this was due to a reduction in coal capacity, the closure of coal sites and the conversion of a unit at the Drax power station from coal to biomass.
