We write about renewable energy milestones from time to time, but this one is rather special: for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, renewable energy sources provided more electricity to UK homes and businesses than fossil fuels over the last quarter. The renewables record was set in the third quarter of this year after its share of the electricity mix rose to 40%.

It is the first time that electricity from British wind farms, solar panels, and renewable biomass plants has surpassed fossil fuels since the UK’s first power plant fired up in 1882. One of the main forces that nudged renewables past fossil fuels was the construction of a string of new offshore wind farms that went online this year.

The new milestone confirms predictions made by the National Grid that 2019 will be the first year since the Industrial Revolution that zero-carbon electricity – renewables and nuclear – overtakes gas and coal-fired power.