Britain went coal-free for a record 100 hours over Bank Holiday weekend

Britain has set a new record after the National Grid went coal-free for 100 hours.

Over the weekend, the country was powered by alternative sources for the longest time since the start of the Industrial Revolution.

A spokesman for the National Grid said the figures reflect a growing trend towards the use of renewable energy sources such as solar panels, which are being installed at homes in greater numbers than ever before.

The cooling towers of the Drax coal-fired power station near Selby in North Yorkshire in 2015

The Government plans to phase out Britain’s last coal-fired power plants by 2025 in a bid to cut carbon emissions.

Coal currently accounts for under 10 per cent of the country’s power output.

Of the 31.45 gigawatts (GW) powering the UK on Sunday, none was accounted for by the use of coal-fired power stations.

A GW of power will provide enough energy for about 700,000 homes.

Sean Kemp, a spokesman for the National Grid, told The Daily Telegraph: ‘We broke the record this weekend for the longest period of time without coal. The continuous period of time without any coal generation on the system was just over 100 hours.

‘It’s becoming a more regular occurrence now. More people have installed solar, more coal is coming off and there’s more wind in the system.’

If the UK continues at the current rate, it is expected it will far surpass the 1,800 hours of coal-free power generated over the whole of 2018.

The National Grid believes that by 2025 it will be able to fully operate Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon. Pictured: A pylon in Birmingham

The National Grid spokesman said that although Britain has experienced a cold snap following an unseasonably warm Easter, there has been no obvious surge in demand to suggest the public have been turning the heating back on.

A government spokesman said: ‘Decarbonising our energy system is a crucial part of our commitment to ending our contribution to global warming.

‘This year we’ve already reached the major milestone of 1,000 hours without using coal to power our homes and industry.

‘We’re closing in on phasing out coal entirely from our power system by 2025 as our renewables sector goes from strength to strength on our path to becoming the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions.’

A spokesman for the National Grid added: ‘As more and more renewables come onto our energy system weekends like this are going to increasingly seem like the ‘new normal’. We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate Great Britain’s electricity system with zero carbon.

‘The transformation of how we get the energy to heat our homes and power our work is a massive change, but the advantages it brings in terms of green energy far outweigh any challenges.’