Analysis: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026

<p>The UK avoided the need for gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026 thanks to record electricity generation from wind and solar, reveals Carbon Brief analysis.</p>

<p>Wind generation hit a new record for the month of March on the island of Great Britain, up 38% year-on-year, while solar nearly matched the output of last year’s <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uks-solar-power-surges-42-after-sunniest-spring-on-record/">exceptionally sunny</a> spring.</p>

<p>Together, wind and solar generated 11 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in March 2026, up a combined 28% and setting a new record for the month, as shown in the figure below.</p>

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Chart showing that record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026" class="wp-image-61960" height="892" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Record_wind_and_solar_saved_UK_from_gas_imports_worth_1bn_in_March_2026-2.png" width="1560" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Monthly generation from wind and solar in terawatt hours on the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), which has a separate electricity system from the island of Ireland, which includes Northern Ireland. Source: National Energy System Operator (NESO) and Carbon Brief analysis.</figcaption></figure>

<p>This record wind and solar output avoided the need to import 21TWh of gas –&nbsp;roughly <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-clean-energy-will-cut-uk-gas-imports-by-more-than-north-sea-drilling/">18 fully loaded tankers</a> of liquified natural gas (LNG)&nbsp;– which would have cost around £1bn at current high prices due to the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-does-the-iran-war-mean-for-the-energy-transition-and-climate-action/">Iran war</a>.</p>

<p>(This is based on gas costing 130p per therm, or £44 per megawatt hour, compared with the <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uk-natural-gas">range of 120-170p</a> per therm seen over the past month.)</p>

<p>At the same time, the record output from wind and solar saw electricity generation from gas falling 25% year-on-year in March 2026 to the lowest level ever recorded for the month.</p>

<p>This meant that gas was <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-why-does-gas-set-the-price-of-electricity-and-is-there-an-alternative/">setting the price</a> of electricity roughly <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/edcporter_how-often-did-gas-set-the-price-for-march-activity-7445031147643928576-0v-o?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAAL7qHQBAyJW0oiRL6RFnZ3OBIpxayxUBHQ">25% less often</a> in March 2026 than in the same month in 2022, when fossil-fuel prices spiked after <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-does-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-mean-for-energy-and-climate-change/">Russia’s invasion of Ukraine</a>.</p>

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<p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-record-wind-and-solar-saved-uk-from-gas-imports-worth-1bn-in-march-2026/">Analysis: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1bn in March 2026</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>