Britain\u2019s energy system operator has predicted that this year\u2019s Christmas Day could be the greenest yet.<\/p>\n
If the weather remains mild and windy for the rest of December, the National Energy<\/a> System Operator (Neso) has said it could record the lowest carbon intensity \u2013 the measure of how much carbon dioxide is released to produce electricity \u2013 recorded on the network for 25 December.<\/p>\n Craig Dyke, a director at Neso, said the electricity grid had run at a record peak<\/a> of 97.7% zero carbon earlier this year, on 1 April.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Christmas, there\u2019s the possibility we\u2019ll see the lowest ever carbon intensity on the network on the big day itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n .<\/a><\/p>\n The company responsible for keeping the lights on, which was bought by the government from National Grid last year<\/a>, said the greenest Christmas Day so far was in 2023, when it recorded a carbon intensity of 30m grams of carbon dioxide. That was five times less than the emissions in 2018.<\/p>\n Last year, more than 40% of electricity generation on Christmas Day came from renewables. It stood at 1.7% in 2009. Earlier this month, wind turbines generated enough electricity \u201cto light up nearly 3bn strings of 100-bulb LED fairy lights\u201d at one point.<\/p>\n Neso said an extra 2GW of wind and 3GW of solar power came on to the network in 2025, taking Britain\u2019s total renewables capacity to an historic high of 53GW. Greater capacity, combined with lower than average energy demand for the time of year, should mean emissions are lower on the 25 December.<\/p>\n While power may be greener this Christmas, heightened consumption at the end of the year can have a damaging impact on the environment. UK households have already thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other \u201cfast tech\u201d gifts over the past year<\/a>, according to research by Material Focus.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, separate research found that 1.1bn of all types of electric products and 450m batteries are thrown away irresponsibly each year.<\/p>\n