The sun powered almost 30% of UK electricity on Monday, amid reduced pollution levels

The UK surpassed its all-time peak solar generation record on Monday, as pollution levels wane in the COVID-19 lockdown.

A peak of 9.68GW was recorded by Sheffield Solar live PV generation tracker at around 12:30 on 20 April 2020, smashing the previous record of 9.55GW set on 13 May 2019.

The UK's Solar Trade Association (STA) cited "clear skies and good weather" as factors that drove the peak, when solar was meeting almost 30% of UK electricity demand.

STA chief executive Chris Hewett said: “Ideal weather conditions and lower levels of pollution than normal mean solar is providing record levels of cheap, clean power to the grid.

"At a time when most of us are working remotely, we can say that solar is truly keeping the WiFi on.”

The UK is currently experiencing significantly lower than usual levels of pollution as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, the STA.

As the lockdown and good weather continues, it is expected that more solar generation records will be broken, the STA said.

The abundance of solar power on the grid has also contributed to the lengthiest coal-free period for the grid in 2020 so far, with more than 11.5 days passed at time of writing.