RECORDS have been broken by renewable energy sources in the UK in the last year.

A new report looking at data from January to March 2017 showed carbon emissions from the electricity sector are lower than in recent years.

Imperial College London produced the Electric Insights report for Drax power, which said the ‘dirtiest’ hour of generation during the winter period was from 8.30pm on January 16.

The report showed 424g of carbon dioxide were released per kiloWatt hour, compared to the average hour between 2009 and 2013, when 471g were produced per kWh, and during the first quarter of 2017, emissions dropped by 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2016 and 33 per cent on the first quarter of 2015.

Dr Iain Staffell, of Imperial College London, said the reduction was due in part to a mild winter, but also due to less coal being burned, and the growth in renewable energy.

He also said solar power hit a record peak output in the first three months of this year, along with wind power, biomass and hyrdoelectricity production, and the report also showed that for the first time in its history, demand on the national grid was lower during the daytime than overnight over the last weekend of March.

Dr Staffell said this may lead to a change in the way power stations such as Drax are run.

He said: "Solar output is still relatively hard to forecast in advance. Technologies that are flexible and can be turned on and off quickly, such as gas or battery storage will help accommodate these changes."

Andy Koss, CEO of Drax Power, said: "Seasonal changes are highlighting the changing role that power stations are now playing.

"This new role is set to increase and we will need more nimble technologies which can be up and running at the flick of a switch – like the rapid response gas power stations we are developing."