How Your Solar Powered Generator Contributed To Record Renewable Energy Levels

Date: 27/01/25

As we look back on a year of turbulent weather events in 2024, it is good to see some really positive steps being taken in the UK to fight climate change. Changing from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources for Britain’s electricity was never going to happen overnight, but the latest figures from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) show that real progress is being made.

Major milestones in energy production

The UK passed a number of major milestones in 2024 when it comes to electricity production, including:

• Wind energy created more electricity than gas for the first time, with an impressive 83 terawatt-hours of electricity generated in 2024 

• Renewable energy, including wind and the wider use of solar powered generators, created 51% of the UK’s electricity over the year. This is the first time renewables have exceeded 50% of the energy mix for four consecutive quarters.

• Wind power hit a new high in December, generating 22.523GW, representing 68.3% of all electricity used that day, with wind power exceeding 50% of the energy mix for ten days that month

• The output created by solar powered generators increased by 5% across the year

• Britain closed its last coal fired power station at Ratcliffe on Soar, ending 142 years of generating electricity from coal

• The carbon intensity of UK electricity has dropped over 70%, from 419g per kilowatt hour in 2014, to just 124g in 2024, with a new low of just 19g/KWh achieved in April

Work to be done

Energy watchdog Carbon Brief said that while the energy sector had been ‘transformed over the past decade’, there was still a lot of work to be done in the fight against climate change. 

The Government’s target is that by 2030, 95% of electricity will be produced by clean energy sources, such as wind and through solar powered generator. Carbon Brief said that while this was possible, it represented ‘a very significant challenge’. Major upgrades are needed, not only in electricity generation itself, but also across the outdated distribution grid which is designed for a few large power stations, rather than multiple renewable energy installations.

Think Hire will help you rise to the challenge

Here at Think Hire, we’re already working hard to make a clean, renewable energy focused future a reality. Our expert team can help you move away from carbon-polluting fossil fuels to a cleaner, greener way of operating based on the use of state of the art solar powered generator.

Partnering with Think Hire gives you so much more than just access to the latest and most energy efficient solar powered generator technology, to power your construction site lighting, plant and equipment and vehicles. It also adds cutting-edge energy management expertise to your team.

The clean energy experts

As the UK’s premier off-grid Energy-as-a-Service provider, Think Hire is committed to reducing your onsite carbon emissions as well as significantly cutting your operating costs. Alongside our on-site inspiration and expertise, we also provide cutting-edge remote energy management on all our equipment. This allows you to monitor and fine tune your system to gain maximum benefit from your solar powered generator, viewing your cost and carbon savings in real time.

We know that small changes, on individual construction sites, can feel insignificant in the vast challenge of global climate change, but as the NESO figures show, these changes are really starting to add up and make a significant difference to the UK energy mix.

There may still be a long way to go, but by working together, changing attitudes, equipment and energy management, we can help to make 2025 another big step forward on our path to a cleaner, greener Britain. To find out more, and to join the climate fight with your site, get in touch today.

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