The last time the UK lasted a week without coal-powered electricity was in 1882, but the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) has confirmed the milestone in decarbonisation – with 13.24 on Wednesday 8th May marking the moment that the last coal-powered generator came off the grid, making it exactly a week of coal-free production.

Generation has been moving to this goal, with first 100 hours of coal-free electricity being declared on 5 May, and Fintan Slye, director of ESO commenting: "As more and more renewables come onto our energy system, coal-free runs like this are going to be a regular occurrence. We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon."

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