Over the last 20 years, the UK’s electricity generating mix has undergone rapid change, largely thanks to huge changes in energy policy.

A series of snapshots from New Power’s Power Plant Database illustrates these changes, from the dash for gas in the early- and mid-1990s, to the rise of wind power, and the mechanisms now needed to make the electricity system more flexible and secure.

The tables on the following pages compare the power plants starting up this year with those starting up during the corresponding year a decade and two decades ago.