Renewables avoids the need for £5.9bn of gas imports

Record generation from wind and solar has avoided the need for £5.9bn of gas imports since the start of the Hormuz crisis.

Research from Carbon Brief said generation from wind and solar was up 14% year-on-year, directly cutting the need for gas-fired electricity which is down by nearly 10% year-on-year in 2026 to date.

In total, wind and solar have generated a record 41% share of the UK’s electricity needs in 2026 to date, compared with 25% from gas.

Carbon Brief said wholesale gas prices in the UK have remained elevated ever since Russia cut off supplies to Europe in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Gas averaged 90p per therm from 2023 until the start of this year, roughly three times above 2019 prices, before the Covid and Ukraine crises.

Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East in March, gas prices have climbed higher still, averaging 134p per therm or nearly four times the level seen in 2019.