Nearly 40% of Northern Ireland's electricity use in 2018 came from renewable sources. (Mars/PA)

Nearly 40% of Northern Ireland's energy now comes from renewable sources, according to the latest government figures.

The Department for the Economy's (DfE) yearly report into electricity consumption and renewable generation revealed that 38.2% of total electricity consumption in Northern Ireland in 2018 was generated from renewable sources within the country.

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The use of renewable energy in 2018 increased by 3.5% on the previous year and is the highest on record.

In 2010, the Stormont Executive launched a Strategic Energy Framework which included a target of 40% of Northern Ireland's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.

In 2018 approximately 7,816 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of total electricity was consumed in Northern Ireland. Of this, some 2,984 GWh was generated from renewable sources within Northern Ireland.

Of all renewable electricity generated within Northern Ireland over the 12 month period, 83.1% was generated from wind. This compares to 84.3% for the previous year.

Belfast Telegraph