There have been many reasons in recent years to be pessimistic about the future of our environment, but 2020 brought us some astonishingly good news. The UK’s commitment to the development of renewable energy sources is setting new records and yielding remarkable results.

Firstly, 2020 saw the UK go for a whole two months without using any fossil fuels for the first time since the industrial revolution 250 years ago. While the effect of the pandemic may mean this extraordinary first is a one-off event, there are many other statistics that suggest renewables are finally coming of age.

But even more significant is the milestone we have reached. In 2010, fossil fuels provided over 75% of the UK’s electricity. In 2020, for the first time ever, renewable energy sources generated more electricity than fossil fuels, by 42% to 39.6%. That’s according to exhaustive research by academics from Imperial College London.

It wasn’t so long ago that climate change sceptics and powerful interests were insisting that renewable energy sources could never provide more than a fraction of the energy needed for an advanced economy to prosper. Now the weight of the evidence is firmly against such opinions. While it may be true that 2020’s 16% fall in carbon emissions can be largely attributed to lockdown, that does not detract from the truth of the irreversible advance of renewables.

Let’s consider the question: What is renewable energy? Many people are familiar with wind farms and the sometimes controversial siting of these high tech machines in the natural landscape. And solar panels are a familiar sight on both domestic and commercial buildings. Less well known are renewable energy sources like hydro and biomass.

Hydroelectric power harnesses the natural energy inherent in the downhill flow of water and the tidal currents of the sea. Water has been used to power mill wheels for centuries but modern technology power developed the means to convert this power into electricity, and by 2020 it satisfied 17% of worldwide energy needs.

Biomass is a renewable energy source that generates power from the burning of organic materials including pants, manure and household waste. Although it releases carbon dioxide as a by-product, this is much less than fossil fuels and many of the organic materials used can be replaced, making it highly sustainable. In 2020 it contributed just 4% to the UK’s energy needs, but this could quadruple by 2032.

So, the answer to the question ‘what is renewable energy?’ is, ‘several things’. The renewable energy industry is a collection of technologies and enterprises operating in distinctly different fields but with one common philosophy – no longer is it acceptable to produce energy by both diminishing the natural world and polluting it. Instead we need to harness the renewable energy sources that are freely given by the planet. The evolution of energy generation has been swift and profound.

At the turn of the century much of the renewable technology we can now take for granted seemed an impossible dream. Now it has become a reality that the future of the planet looks a whole lot safer, sounder and greener.