Britain has first coal-free week in over a century

LONDON -- Britain has broken its record and gone a full week without using coal for electricity generation, the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) confirmed on Twitter on Wednesday.

According to ESO, it was the first-ever week of coal-free operation since the use of the fossil fuel for electricity generation began in the 19th century.

"As more and more renewables come on to our energy system, coal-free runs like this are going to be a regular occurrence," said ESO Director Fintan Slye.

"We believe that by 2025 we will be able to fully operate Britain's electricity system with zero carbon," he noted.

Britain's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy commented on Twitter: "We're phasing out coal entirely by 2025 and on a path to become the first major economy to legislate for net-zero emissions."

The British government announced in 2015 that it would end unabated coal-fired power generation by 2025. Earlier this month, the government's Committee on Climate Change said they had set an ambitious new target: net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.