Solar energy supplying one-quarter of UK electricity demand as sun shines

Rare good weather in Britain on Friday led to solar panels supplying one-quarter of the UK demand for electricity for the first time, according to the National Grid.

Solar power in the UK produced a maximum of 8.7 gigawatts on Friday, 24.3% of the total electricity being used in the country at the time.

Temperatures reached 28 degrees in some places across Britain on Friday, with the record solar level being reached at around midday.

Head of National Grid's control room operations Duncan Burt told The Independent that the increasing trend of using solar power is likely to continue.

"We now have significant volumes of renewable energy on the system and as this trend continues, our ability to forecast these patterns is becoming more and more important," Burt said.

#Solar has just broken another record in Great Britain, providing 8.7 GW (24.3% of demand) pic.twitter.com/yNreEqgd7c
— NG Control Room (@NGControlRoom) May 26, 2017

"We have planned for these changes to the energy landscape and have the tools available to ensure we can balance supply and demand. It really is the beginning of a new era, which we are prepared for and excited to play our part".

A report published in December showed solar power to be the cheapest form of generating electricity in several countries, including developing economies such as Brazil, India and China.