Britain is using a smaller proportion of fossil fuels than ever before, after renewable energy sources became the biggest source of electrical power.

Clean energy fuel sources moved just ahead of gas-fired energy, which represented almost 40% of the country's total electricity mix. Now renewables are the greatest source of power when combined with nuclear energy output.

The new milestone was partially achieved thanks to the number of coal-fired power stations that have gone offline in the past year. In quarter three of this year, just 1% of the UK's electricity was derived from coal, compared to 2.5% in the previous year.

This was partially due to Nottinghamshire's Cottam coal plant going offline earlier than planned. The plant used up its final coal stores before its official last day of 30 September. Fiddler's Ferry and Aberthaw B are scheduled to close next March. From this point, the UK will only have four coal-fired power stations left.

Offshore wind projects also enjoyed a new milestone, producing more power than onshore developments for the first time on record.

Giant offshore turbines produced almost 10% of the country's total energy output, compared to nearly 7% in 2018. Onshore wind turbines were slightly behind at around 9% of the country's total energy needs, compared to 7% in the previous year.

On one single day, wind energy was able to produce nearly 45% of Britain's total energy - 16GW, which was generated overnight. As a result, thousands of homeowners were able to make use of the clean energy surge.

The energy sector will now be waiting to see what Boris Johnson's new government has in store for electrical energy generation and the plans to progress towards a low-carbon economy. Once Brexit has been delivered, the green agenda is likely to accelerate.