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.
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 exceptionally sunny spring.
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.
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.
This record wind and solar output avoided the need to import 21TWh of gas – roughly 18 fully loaded tankers of liquified natural gas (LNG) – which would have cost around £1bn at current high prices due to the Iran war.
(This is based on gas costing 130p per therm, or £44 per megawatt hour, compared with the range of 120-170p per therm seen over the past month.)
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.
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Flames from the Palisades fire burn homes on January 7, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
“There is no ‘firefighting’ in these kinds of conditions,” said one meteorologist. “There is only saving as many lives as possible and getting the heck out of the fire’s way.”
Several major wildfires burned out of control in California’s Los Angeles County on Wednesday as roaring winds fueled the rapid spread of the blazes, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate as state, local, and federal officials mobilized resources to confront the emergency.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass wrote on social media late Tuesday that the city is “working aggressively” to stem the wildfires, which scientists and government officials characterized as uniquely devastating.
“Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said early Wednesday. The governor noted that more than 1,400 firefighting personnel have been deployed to “combat these unprecedented fires.”
The Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires broke out on Tuesday. It quickly exploded amid what the National Weather Service described as “extremely critical fire weather,” with wind gusts up to 99 mph propelling the devastating blazes. The extreme winds forced emergency crews to ground aircraft that were working to contain the fires.
“For some context, fire crews are up against near hurricane-force winds occurring mid-winter in rugged terrain during a drought at night,” wrote meteorologist Eric Holthaus. “There is no ‘firefighting’ in these kinds of conditions. There is only saving as many lives as possible and getting the heck out of the fire’s way.”
“The emergence of extreme wintertime wildfires in California presents one of those classic ‘this is climate change’ moments.”
The Eaton fire, which broke out Tuesday evening in the Pasadena area, “spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
“The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses, and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety,” the newspaper added.
The three fires have together burned thousands of acres so far and destroyed or endangered tens of thousands of homes and buildings, according to Newsom’s office. So far, at least 19 school districts have announced complete or partial closures due to the fires.
Video footage posted to social media showed residents watching in horror as flames surrounded their homes:
“There has been a recent massive increase in wildfires in California but really, a fire this big in January? This is unprecedented,” scientist Hayley Fowler wrote on social media. “One of many extreme events fueled by the climate crisis.”
Holthaus wrote Tuesday that Southern California is “facing a rare and dangerous juxtaposition of extreme winds and midwinter drought,” the meteorologist described as “a worrying example of the state’s expanding wildfire threat as climate change worsens.”
“The National Weather Service defines ‘extremely critical’ fire weather as sustained winds over 30 mph and relative humidity of less than 10% in drought conditions and temperatures warmer than 70 degrees,” Holthaus observed. “This is the first time in history these criteria have been met anywhere in the United States during January.”
“The emergence of extreme wintertime wildfires in California,” he added, “presents one of those classic ‘this is climate change’ moments: A specific set of weather conditions are now occurring in such a way to produce the potential for rare disasters to become much more common.”
