New energy statistics released by the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change indicate that the country sourced 16.8 percent of its electricity from renewable resources during the second quarter of the year, up 0.9 percent from the same period of 2013. The DECC noted that the increased share occurred despite a fall in generation from renewables, reflecting that overall generation was at its lowest quarterly level in 16 years.  Renewable electricity generation was 13.2 terawatt hours (TWh) during the three-month period, down 1 percent from the same quarter of 2013. The decrease is attributed to low generation from wind sources.

Bioenergy generated increased 8.8 percent in the second quarter when compared to the same period of 2013, reaching a record 5.6 TWh. Plant biomass, which increased from 2.8 TWh to 3.1 TWh, was the main contributor to bioenergy growth.  The increase is attributed primarily to the recently converted second unit at Drax power station, along with the Ironbridge facility. According to the DECC, those new sources more than offset the August 2013 closure of Tilbury. As a result of the conversions, generation from cofiring was less than 0.1 TWh.

Overall, bioenergy had a 42 percent share of renewables generation in the U.K. during the second quarter. Bioenergy, however, only had 19.4 percent of capacity.

Overall renewable capacity was 22.2 GW as of the close of the second quarter, up 13.8 percent from the previous year. When compared to the first quarter, capacity was up 4.5 percent. According to the DECC, capacity from the Drax conversion was offset by a reduction in capacity at the Ironbridge conversion following a fire that occurred in the first quarter.

DECC statistics show that 2,816 MW of capacity had been installed and was eligible for, the feed in tariff scheme by the close of the second quarter, constituting about 13 percent of renewable capacity.

Additional information on the U.K.’s second quarter renewable energy consumption is available on the DECC website.