Renewable electricity made up a record 29.8% of the UK’s energy mix in the second quarter of this year.

The government report detailing this landmark figure also shows the clean energy growth came as output from coal fell by half to a record low of 2.1%.

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) analysed the data and suggested while the deployment of solar capacity grew by more than 50% between January and September 2015, growth declined to 18% between the same months in 2016 and this year, deployment between the same months only grew by 6%.

The REA believes this is due to government policy restricting the routes to market for solar technology, despite having previously suggested it was one of the cheapest forms of clean power.

James Court, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the REA, said: “This success has been facilitated by the rapid fall in cost for renewable technologies such as solar and wind, which are now the most cost effective means of new power generation.

“The government must address the policy barriers which have unnecessarily impeded their deployment over the last year and give the industry clarity around how the market will be structured in the 2020s.”

Professor Dieter Helm yesterday published a report suggesting consumers have not fully benefitted from the falling costs of a range of energy technologies, including renewables.