Energy in the UK

Context

The UK's total final energy consumption in 2010 was equivalent to around 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil, or over 3 million barrels per day. Actual oil usage accounts for approximately one third of this, with the majority of that oil being used directly as transport fuel.

Heat - including space heating, hot water and industrial process heating - is the biggest consumer of energy, representing 49% of the country's total final usage, and a dominant 82% of domestic energy usage. Perhaps surprisingly, electricity represents the smallest portion of our energy usage pie, accounting for only 18% of final consumption. Of course, the inefficiencies in its generation (see below) mean that electricity incurs a much higher proportion of primary energy consumption - the fuel going into power stations - and it is also a 'high quality' and expensive form of energy.

Electricity Generation

The UK's electricity generation mix has changed dramatically in recent years. The mix is now dominated by combined cycle gas-fired power stations, which has accounted for close to half of electricity produced during 2010. Whilst modern gas-fired stations are the cleanest and most efficient (over 55% in some cases) of all fossil fuelled types, they still emit around 0.43kgCO2 for each kWh produced. They also continue to increase our dependency on steeply-rising proportions of imported natural gas, much of which is liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar.

Nuclear generation has fallen from its peak, settling in early 2011 at around a 17% share, whilst coal has fluctuated around the 25-35% mark in recent years. The balance is primarily renewable generation, whose share of electricity production reached 7% by 2010, and 8.1% in Q1 2011. The aim for 2020 is to raise this to 30-35%, which is an extraordinary challenge in fewer than 10 years.

The Challenges

It is clear from the above that oil and gas remain critical to the UK's energy mix, and our indigenous production has fallen precipitously since the turn of the Millennium. We therefore have to consider all of the following challenges in the coming years: