The electricity produced in Britain in 2022 was close to the greenest it has ever been, second only to the Covid-influenced record of 2020 when demand was lower than usual, data shows.
Rising gas prices, with the war in Ukraine and Russia as a possibly unreliable supplier of energy, forced the UK to sign a deal that would keep two coal power plants as backup because the country could not get enough gas.
But still, zero-carbon energy sources were able to make up a much larger portion of the country’s electricity mix than fossil fuels.
Data from the National Grid operator showed that Britain in 2022 had the greenest day and month on record, and wind power also hit new highs.
“The use of coal in our day-to-day energy mix has continued to decline, with coal responsible for only 1.5 per cent of generation in 2022,” the operator said.
Coal use was a “significant reduction” since 2012, when it represented 43 per cent of electricity produced.
Over 2022, zero-carbon electricity accounted for 48.5 per cent of the total, compared to 40 per cent from gas and coal power.
Most of the green electricity came from wind turbines. In total, 26.8 per cent of Britain’s electricity came from wind, second only to gas, which produced 38.5 per cent of the total.
Nuclear power, a zero-carbon producer, was responsible for 15.5 per cent of production.
Biomass, which includes burning wood pellets in power plants, contributed 5.2 per cent, solar produced 4.4 per cent, while coal power plants produced 1.5 per cent of Britain’s electricity.
The rest came from electricity that was imported from Europe (5.5 per cent), hydropower (1.8 per cent), and storage (0.9 per cent).
For every unit of electricity produced in Britain last year, 182g of carbon equivalent was released into the atmosphere.
That is just one gram more than in 2020, but 2022 was not disrupted by lockdowns, grounded planes and industry furloughs.
February was the greenest month ever recorded, with 126g of carbon per unit of electricity. The greenest day was on December 28, with 52g of carbon.
In November, more than 20GW of electricity came from wind for the first time, a record beaten again in December.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
