A Hurricane Briefly Helped Wind Power Overtake Nuke Power in the U.K.
When the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo blew through northwestern Europe earlier this week, the storm's strong winds helped the United Kingdom to consume a full one percent more wind power than nuclear power on Tuesday.
During the storm, the United Kingdom received 14.2 percent of its energy from wind power, versus 13.2 percent produced by nuclear power plants. The win for wind isn't without an asterisk, though. According to The Independent, more than half of the country's nuclear power plants were offline for "refueling and maintenance" at the time, so the already-minimized nuclear capacity combined with stiff winds across the U.K. pushed wind power over the top for a brief period during the storm.
The BBC reports that the storm produced wind gusts up to 70 MPH in Wales, which is located on the western part of Great Britain. The storm's remnants are still causing problems in Europe, with eastern Europe and the Balkans continuing to experience flooding rains on Thursday. Bermuda—which took a rare direct strike from the hurricane last Friday—is mostly recovered from the effects of the strong category two hurricane.
Renewable energy—including wind, hydroelectric, and solar—accounted for 15% of the United Kingdom's total energy production in 2013, while the country received 19.8% of its energy from nuclear power plants.
[Image: Getty | first paragraph edited for clarity]
