Wind farms in Great Britain produced a record amount of electricity this year thanks to windy weather and an increase in the number of turbines, which softened the impact of rising natural gas prices, Bloomberg reported.

Wind power will be a key factor in how Europe deals with an energy crisis that has already cost more than $1 trillion. Higher wind speeds will reduce the need to burn more gas after Russia cuts supplies to Europe.

Building a large number of wind farms will allow the UK to reduce its gas consumption and meet its climate targets.

Most turbines in the UK are offshore where the winds are stronger and more consistent. Britain’s wind farms have produced almost 74 TWh this year, according to the National Energy Transport Company. This is enough to provide energy for more than 19 million homes. The previous record of 68 TWH was set in 2020.

The record production became possible due to the increase in the number of large wind turbines. In 2023, the trend will continue, the Seagreen 1.1 GWh project, implemented by SSE Plc and TotalEnergies SE, will become operational in the summer.

New records are set to be set in the coming years, with the UK closing in on a target of 50 GWh of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade, triple the current level.

Even with increased capacity, there will be periods when the wind doesn’t blow, as happened last week when the amount of gas used to generate electricity was increased. But over time, wind power will reduce demand for fossil fuels. (Agerpress)

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