Beyond Coal: OpenWeather Fuels the UK's Renewable Energy Surge

After 57 years of operation, the last coal-fired power station in the UK stopped operations on September 30th, 2024, a landmark moment in the transition to cleaner energy sources. This shift towards renewables brings with it a growing need for accurate and reliable weather data, and OpenWeather is at the forefront of providing the tools and information necessary to make this transition a success.

In the spirit of recycling and repurposing, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar site is due to undergo a remarkable transformation. The buildings, cooling towers, and other structures will be decommissioned and demolished, paving the way for a cutting-edge zero-carbon technology and energy hub. This ambitious redevelopment project is expected to create between 7,000 and 8,000 local jobs and generate £513 million annually for the East Midlands economy.

For over a century, coal has been a cornerstone of the UK's energy infrastructure, with the first coal-fired power station, the Holborn Viaduct, beginning operation in 1882. The UK's commitment to phasing out coal, along with its ambitious net-zero targets, has led to this historic turning point, making it the first major economy to fully abandon coal-fired electricity.

UK Government Energy Auction

This year's auction for renewable energy projects was the most successful to date, with 131 new initiatives receiving funding, a significant increase from the 92 projects secured in the previous round. The newly funded projects are estimated to be able to power up to 11 million homes

Some key highlights from the auction include:

• Hornsea 3: This project, located off the Yorkshire coast, will be the largest offshore wind farm in Europe.
• Green Volt: The world's largest floating offshore wind project, Green Volt, will be built in UK waters, doubling Europe's current floating wind capacity.
• Tidal Power: Six new tidal energy projects were secured, solidifying the UK's position as a global leader in this innovative technology. The UK currently houses nearly half of the world's operational tidal stream capacity.
• Solar and Onshore Wind: A combined 115 solar and onshore wind projects were awarded funding, exceeding the total number of projects from the previous auction round.

The recent renewable energy auction is just the latest in a series of government initiatives aimed at accelerating the UK's transition to clean energy by 2030. In the past three months alone, the government has:

• Lifted the ban on onshore wind in England: This move will unlock significant potential for onshore wind development, contributing to increased renewable energy generation.
• Launched Great British Energy: This new public body, established in partnership with the Crown Estate and backed by £8.3 billion in funding, will drive the development of offshore wind projects, with an estimated 20-30GW of new capacity expected by 2030.
• Approved major solar farms: Three large-scale solar farms have been given the green light, with the capacity to power approximately 400,000 homes.
• Established Clean Energy Mission Control: This new center, led by former Climate Change Committee Chief Executive Chris Stark, will focus on streamlining and accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies across the UK.

OpenWeather's Role in the Renewable Energy Landscape

OpenWeather's suite of products, including the Solar Irradiance and Energy Prediction Service and versatile One Call API 3.0, are invaluable tools for navigating the complexities of a renewable-powered grid.

In addition, the OpenWeather Dashboard provides a comprehensive and customisable suite of tools for renewable energy companies, offering accurate solar and wind forecasts to predict power output and optimize grid management, historical weather data analysis to inform project planning and site selection, real-time weather alerts to enable proactive adjustments to operations, and customizable data visualization for tailored insights.

*As we can see, the closure of the UK's last coal-fired power station is a significant milestone in the shift towards cleaner energy sources. As the world faces the challenges of climate change, the transition to renewables is not just an environmental imperative, but also an economic opportunity.

OpenWeather is proud to be a key partner in this transition, providing the data and insights that are essential for a sustainable energy future.*

About OpenWeather:

OpenWeather provides weather data for any location on the globe using a proprietary hyperlocal forecasting model with a resolution from 500 m to 2 km, globally. More than 6,000,000 customers from logistics, agriculture, insurance, energy, retail, and many other sectors, are working with the company's weather products.

OpenWeather cooperates with global meteorological agencies such as MetOffice and NOAA, and enhances its model with data from radars, weather stations and satellites. The company provides great availability of service at 99.9% for enterprise-level products.

The products can be easily integrated into complex IT systems and are ideal for ML analytic systems. OpenWeather is a member of Royal Meteorological Society and an Achilles-certified supplier. OpenWeather ethical initiatives include support of educators and students, not-for-profit subscriptions for the general public to increase weather awareness, and recent Ukrainian donation programme.

For more information on how to gain access to our OpenWeather products, please email us.