The UK enjoyed record highs for renewable energy production in 2018, generating enough clean energy to supply over a quarter of the country's total needs, according to official figures.

27.5pc of Britain's energy supplies were generated from hydropower, bioenergy, solar and wind in 2018. This was in comparison to the 2017 figure of 23.7pc, demonstrating how the move towards a more sustainable future and the clean economy is gaining traction.

The figures are currently provisional and were generated by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The higher proportion of renewables generation came from new installations of solar panels and wind farms, along with plants designed to incinerate plants and other organic materials.

The low-carbon power category also includes nuclear energy. Together, these sources produced 49.6% of the country's energy supplies, which was a new high.

The government has committed to bringing coal offline entirely by 2025. Its generating figures dropped again last year, and it produced just 6% of the country's power supplies, compared to the 2017 figure of 7.8pc. 

Gas also dropped from 44.8pc to 43.9pc.

These provisional figures are generated from the records of primary power producers. At this stage, they exclude some renewable energy technologies and businesses that generate power for their own commercial uses.

In further good news for the country, Scottish Power has said that it will commit to investing £2 billion in the UK's renewables system this year. 42pc will be put towards renewables generation, 41pc will go towards smart networks and the remainder will go on eco-friendly products for customers.

This will be as part of its bid to transition to a 100% clean supplier and to follow in the footsteps of the so-called Big Six in achieving this aim.