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Emissions from power stations increased last year despite the drive for renewables and the closure of the UK’s last coal-fired generator, a report has revealed. Figures from energy analysts Montel showed that greenhouse gases produced by electricity generation increased by 2.8 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year. It found that this reflected the UK’s reliance on gas, particularly on occasions when renewables were unable to supply the grid, such as windless or cloudy days. Another reason suggested in the report was curtailment. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say This is when energy produced by renewables cannot be used on the grid because of bottlenecks in the system. It can result in fossil fuels being used in their place, as their output is more easily controlled. It can also cause curtailment payments – money given to generators not to produce electricity because the grid cannot handle their output. However, the Government disputed Montel’s data. It pointed to its own provisional figures for 2025, which showed a slight decrease in emissions. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESZN) figures showed emissions falling by one per cent over the same period. “This was largely due to coal emissions in the electricity supply sector falling to zero in 2025, due to the closure of the UK’s last coal-powered station in September 2024,” its report found. The data also showed that while gas-fired electricity increased by five per cent in 2025, this was offset by renewables reaching a 52 per cent share of total generation. Industry experts suggested one reason for the discrepancy may be down to how the emissions of imported energy are calculated. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Ed Miliband warned he is risking 'accelerating the decline of UK's foundational industries' Norway reopens three North Sea gas fields to power millions of homes while UK stalls British ceramics in fight for survival as centuries-old sector faces 'existential' crisis Montel’s report added: “Power generated from carbon-emitting sources rose by 5.7 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024 despite the complete removal of coal from the energy mix in September 2024. “This led to a 2.8 per cent increase in carbon emissions from power generation in GB compared to 2024. “This reflects the continued reliance on gas-fired generation to provide flexibility and security of supply, particularly during periods of low renewable output or high demand.” The importance of gas in the energy mix was highlighted last week when Centrica paid £370 million for the Severn Power station, a gas-turbine system. Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea said: “With the delivery of replacement capacity being impacted by grid access, rising costs and supply chain constraints, alongside the closure of ageing gas assets towards the end of the decade, the need for assets like Severn will increase.” Under the Government’s Clean Power 2030 plan, 95 per cent of electricity will be generated by low-carbon sources by the end of the decade. Montel found that the amount of green power had increased in 2025. Its report read: “Great Britain’s zero-carbon output rose from around 139.6 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 to 144.6 TWh in 2025, a 3.6 per cent increase.” DESNZ disputed the claim that emissions had risen. “This is incorrect. UK power sector emissions fell slightly in 2025," a spokesman said. "The lesson of yet another fossil fuel crisis is the UK needs to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean homegrown power we control.” The department said that the grid had suffered from years of underinvestment – a situation the Government was working to put right. Improving the grid would minimise constraint costs, it said. But Richard Tice, Reform UK's energy spokesman, told the Telegraph: “The rising cost of the UK’s energy bills is a national emergency for consumers and industry. “This is further evidence that the Government’s net zero strategy has become a disastrous waste of consumer cash and must be scrapped.” Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
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