Britain smashed another record for not burning coal from energy today as it moves towards eliminating the fuel by 2025.
British power plants have now stood idle for 1,976 hours so far this year, more than in all of 2018.
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It has helped reduce carbon emissions by around 5m tonnes, the government said.
Energy and clean growth minister Chris Skidmore said coal the government will support renewables as it seeks to phase out coal by 2025.
“Coal is fast becoming the fossil of our energy system and it will soon be consigned to the history books,” he said.
Last month Britain hit its consecutive first week, then its first fortnight, without burning a lump of coal for power.
However, the reduction in coal burning is having knock-on effects in parts of the country.
With plants having stood idle for around three months out of the last six, they cannot stand the pressure.
Last week SSE announced it would be closing the Fiddlers Ferry plant in Cheshire, which supports 158 jobs in the area.
The plant became financially unsustainable and has only been online for 11 hours so far this year.
The fuel has gone from being around two thirds of Britains energy production in the early 1990s. Today the country has gone 27 consecutive hours without burning the fuel.
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