--- title: Can wind and solar provide all the energy Britain needs? description: Wind and solar are essential to cutting emissions, but they cannot provide all the reliability Britain needs on their own. image: https://northseafacts.co.uk/hubfs/North%20Sea%20Facts.jpg --- [![](https://northseafacts.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/NSF%201%20white.png?width=125&height=79&name=NSF%201%20white.png)](https://northseafacts.co.uk/?hsLang=en-gb) - [Investment & Jobs](https://northseafacts.co.uk/investment-and-jobs) - [Energy security](https://northseafacts.co.uk/energy-security) - [Emissions](https://northseafacts.co.uk/emissions) - [Cost of Living](https://northseafacts.co.uk/cost-of-living) More results - [Investment & Jobs](https://northseafacts.co.uk/investment-and-jobs) - [Energy security](https://northseafacts.co.uk/energy-security) - [Emissions](https://northseafacts.co.uk/emissions) - [Cost of Living](https://northseafacts.co.uk/cost-of-living) ENERGY SECURITY # Can wind and solar provide all the energy Britain needs? ![icons-10\[13\]](https://northseafacts.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/icons-10%5B13%5D.png?width=750&height=422&name=icons-10%5B13%5D.png "icons-10[13]") --- ### **Wind and solar are essential to cutting emissions, but they cannot provide all the reliability Britain needs on their own.** The latest [annual DESNZ figures](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688a28656478525675739051/DUKES_2025_Chapter_5.pdf) show wind and solar accounted for just over a third of UK electricity generation in 2024, with wind providing 29.2% and solar 5.0%. That is a major contribution, but it is not 100%. Moreover, electricity is not the same as total energy demand across heating, transport, industry, refining and aviation. More recent [quarterly figures](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a423e678cbc951a27d80dac/Energy_Trends_June_2026.pdf) show the same picture. In the first quarter of 2026, DESNZ says renewable electricity generation hit a record 43.7TWh and provided 53.1% of UK generation. But gas still provided 32.3% of electricity generation even in a strong quarter for wind, while UK fossil fuel dependency was 76.6%. Reliability requires more than weather-dependent generation. Britain needs a whole-system mix: wind, solar, storage, interconnectors, nuclear, demand flexibility and back-up generation that can operate when renewable output is low and demand is high. That is why the [UK Government’s Clean Power 2030 plan](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-power-2030-action-plan/clean-power-2030-action-plan-a-new-era-of-clean-electricity-main-report) still includes a back-up role for gas during the transition, until it can be safely replaced by low-carbon technologies. The aim should be to build wind, solar, storage and grid infrastructure as quickly as possible. But reliability in the near term still depends on a balanced system. 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