National grid data reveals that within the UK coal generated electricity fell to zero on a number of occasions last week. Last Thursday the UK saw a record a breaking plummet in coal generated electricity. For more than half a day coal ceased producing electricity leading to a zero input in the UK’s electricity mix. According to the Financial times website It is believed to be the first occasion that coal has ceased producing electricity since the earliest public coal fired generator commenced at Holborn Viaduct, London in 1882. These record breaking figures arrive as the UK makes it’s annual transition into the summer month whereby the typical need for electricity decreases. We have seen a number of coal based power plants close over recent times owing to the fact that they have become uneconomical, plants including Drax in North Yorkshire have made the measured transition from conventional coal fuel to instead burning a biomass. The news is welcomed by many since the government pledged to phase out coal fired power plants by 2025 on the grounds that it is the greatest polluting power to generate electricity. Whats even more welcoming is that over the last year we have seen an incredible rise in renewable infrastructure connected to the system. In the last quarter of 2015 we saw a record contribution of over 27% of the UK’s electricity mix supplied from renewable sources including wind and solar. Renewable electricity generated from solar PV is consistently surpassing coal throughout the day, often attaining 6.8 GW at it’s 12 ‘o'clock midday height in constant to coals 3 GW peak output. Of course there is still the unresolved dilemma from harnessing peak renewable electricity for times where generating electricity is unobtainable due to environmental factors. Solar power remains restricted to producing electricity throughout the day, however it has been revealed that last week renewable technology generated more electricity than coal. Whilst it is true that coal certainly shaped the backbone to Britain's industrial revolution, evolution occurs and technology moves on. Our UK energy mix is making the transition into a cleaner, carbon free domain with solar and wind increasingly contributing to much of our electricity supply year on year. Could home energy storage bridge the gap in our renewable electricity supply? The idea behind home energy storage is an intriguing one. The concept is that each home is to eventually be fitted with a battery system which is capable of stockpiling low cost electricity generated from renewable sources i.e. solar in low demand. It is foreseen that once the peak electricity demand kicks in which is inevitably the most expensive period for generating electricity that home batteries will dispense the harnessed energy. It is through that the batteries could also solve the predicament of solar and wind farms which generate electricity at times when there is no demand for it and moreover nowhere to store it. There is also the possibility of selling any surplus stored electricity back into the grid or the prospect in retaining the energy incase the main grid breaks down. Battery storage whether that be communal or per each property has the potential to removing highly expensive spikes in electricity demand which would allow for a more efficient network. The concept is one that is being taken seriously with several large players making big moves within the sector such as the large oil giant Total recently acquiring group Saft for in excess of £750m as it envisages a future beyond fossil fuels. Nonetheless is there a genuine possibility that a home energy storage appliance could become as common as the washing machine? Of course the ultimate objective for homeowners would be to install a sufficient amount of solar or wind power and enough energy storage to allow for self sufficiency and off gird status. Powering our homes with virtually carbon free renewable electricity generators along with collectively switching to energy efficient electric heating is inevitably on the horizon. However home energy storage is still a partial distance away before becoming a serious contender. It is a promising appliance, however fundamentally the technology still remains a jigsaw piece away from revolutionising how we consume our energy. Currently the batteries themselves have only enough capacity to store up to a third of an average properties energy demands within a 24 hour period. So does that make a 4kWh home energy storage battery at a cost of around £2,500 a good investment? Well the concept is that if households dispense their stored energy at peak times of the day then there would be less of spike in UK electricity demand which in turn would put less of a reliance on large carbon loaded power stations to balance out the electricity demand in order to maintain our electricity supply from running out. In turn this has the potential to reduce costs in supply since there would be less of a panic spike during typical peak electricity demands. Whilst the concept is fascinating and will beyond doubt play a significant role in how the UK utilises energy, there remains the technological advancement to fulfil a battery that is capable of holding sufficient electrical charge to supply a property independently for 24 hours or more. A battery size of this nature would allow households to finally become self sufficient, whats more is the energy generated would be carbon free. With over 1m UK properties already possessing solar PV the market is certainly attractive, most probably through the subsides incentive, however if every property could possess it’s very own carbon free electricity generator and battery storage system we could comfortably halt climate change and dramatically bring down the costs of energy supply. With solar technology becoming cheaper and cheaper it is inevitable that eventually we will all posses a self reliant and carbon free electric supply capable of powering all our electric devices including electric heating.