Almost a third of the UK’s electricity came from renewable sources between July and September, as wind turbines and solar panels helped achieve a quarterly record for green energy.

Major new offshore windfarms connecting to the grid pushed renewables to 33.1% of electricity generation across the quarter, up from 30% the year before.

The speed at which green energy projects are being installed has resulted in records tumbling this year. Wind power broke records during the “beast from the east”, which was eclipsed during Storm Diana last month, and again this week when wind generation hit 15GW on Tuesday.

The trend is expected to continue next year as more windfarms around the coast near completion. Initial analysis of some recently built offshore projects also shows they are generating more power than expected.

Meanwhile, gas and coal slumped to a new low of just over 41.1%, according to official statistics published on Thursday.

Environmental groups said the progress showed the government should rethink its backing for nuclear and fracking, and give its full support to renewables.

“Solar and wind technologies are powering ahead, beating new records for low costs and high production despite unhelpful government interventions,” Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Par, said.

Quick guide Offshore windfarms in the UK Show Hide How important is offshore wind power to the UK energy system?

Offshore windfarms generated 8% of the UK’s electricity in 2018, according to estimates by trade body RenewableUK. The UK has more offshore wind capacity than anywhere in the world, with 37 projects made up of nearly 2,000 turbines. There is nearly 8GW of capacity today, 1.3GW of which was added in 2018. Another 5GW is already committed to. The UK has 44% of all European offshore wind power capacity. What obstacles has wind power faced?

The first subsidies awarded to offshore windfarms promised developers a guaranteed price of up to £150 per megawatt hour, or roughly three times the wholesale cost of electricity. Such steep subsidies would not be sustainable but cost reductions in the industry have seen that figure drop to as low as £57.50. The offshore wind industry has previously been criticised for not using enough UK contractors and suppliers. What is the economic benefit to the UK?

The industry employs around 11,000 people. One of the side effects of offshore wind’s growth has been an injection of money and jobs into coastal towns that in some cases have big pockets of economic deprivation. Ports have been upgraded and new maintenance facilities built, such as the one at Newhaven in East Sussex for the first windfarm in the English Channel. The different parts of turbines are made across the UK, from the Isle of Wight to Hull. What does the future hold for offshore wind power in the UK?

The industry has a target of growing today’s 8GW capacity to 30GW by 2030, which, if achieved, would see offshore wind power supplying more than a third of the UK’s electricity. The government has put a £557m pot of funding aside for subsidies for renewables in the next few years, most of which is expected to be taken up by offshore windfarms. The industry is also hoping for export opportunities for UK firms, as new markets grow in the US and Asia.

Low carbon sources of power, which include the country’s eight nuclear power stations, account for 56% of the UK’s electricity supply. The 50% mark was hit only two years ago.

Figures also show that householders appear to be rushing to install solar panels before incentives end next year. More than 4,700 solar schemes were fitted in November, the highest in more than two years. The vast majority were of the size households would install.

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“This could be due to the upcoming closure of the feed-in tariff scheme in March 2019,” the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said.

It announced this week that the scheme’s closure would also mean households installing solar in future having to give away unused clean power for free.