Great Britain's electricity system was the greenest it had ever been at lunchtime on Easter Monday.

Sunny and windy weather, plus a low demand for power, led to a surge in renewable sources of energy.

This meant low-carbon energy sources made up almost 80% of Britain's power.

There was zero coal generation on the grid and only 10% of power came from gas plants.

Wind power made up 39% of the energy mix, with solar at 21% and nuclear accounting for 16%. The burning of biomass (plant or animal material used as fuel) accounted for around 4%.

The National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) said levels of carbon pollution for each unit of electricity consumed dropped to the lowest ever recorded for the grid on Easter Monday.

To compare, the following day 24.8% of Britain's energy came from fossil fuels, most of which was gas, while 45.2% was renewable energy sources. 

These fossil fuel figures have been dropping all year. In January, gas accounted for more than 43% of the energy mix, with coal at almost 5%, then in March just 37% of Britain's electricity was generated from gas.

The previous record for Great Britain's greenest day was set during lockdown last year, on 24 May 2020.

This new record, which comes 8 months before the pivotal UN COP26 climate change conference, is a positive sign that the UK is heading in the right direction to achieve its ambitious climate change targets.

It also highlights the growing number of fossil fuel companies looking to diversify into the renewables space which, in turn, is expected to create thousands of new jobs for the next generation of energy workers.