Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Energy use in the United Kingdom
stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules
(EJ) - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total
(while the UK accounts for under 1% of global population
). Demand for electricity in 2006 was ~40GW
typically, and ~60GW at peak; the total electricity consumed in 2006 was 1.25 exajoules.
The Low Carbon
Transition Plan launched by the British government in July 2009 aims at 30% of renewable and of 40% of low CO2-content fuels in electricity generation by 2020. The NDA announced winning bidders for its nuclear site auction and launched a new process for the Sellafield site to be closed by 2010.
These actions are occurring as Europe is facing the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. Europe’s consumptions shrank by 5% and primary production faced a noticeable drop as well. The trade deficit was reduced by 8%, respectively due to substantial cuts in energy imports.
Government policy
plays a key role in limiting greenhouse gas emissions toward avoiding dangerous climate change
, and in meeting energy demand. Shifting availabilities of resources and development of technologies also change the country's energy mix through changes in costs.
Concerns over peak oil
have been raised by high-profile voices in the UK such as Sir David King and the Industry Task-Force on Peak Oil and Energy Security. The latter's 2010 report states that "The next five years will see us face another crunch - the oil crunch. This time, we do have the chance to prepare. The challenge is to use that time well." (Sir Richard Branson and Ian Marchant
).
in 2010. In five years the United Kingdom moved from almost gas self-sufficient to 40% gas import in 2010. Share of gas in TPES was almost 40 % and in electricity over 45 % in 2010. Underground storage was about 5 % annual demand and above 10 % of net imports. There is alternative fuel obligation in UK.
Gasfields include Amethyst gasfield
, Armada gasfield
, Easington Catchment Area
, East Knapton
, Everest gasfield
and Rhum gasfield
.
With the development of the national grid, the switch to using electricity, UK electricity consumption increased by around 150% between the post war
nationalisation of the industry in 1948 and the mid 1960s. During the 1960s growth slowed as the market became saturated
.
During the 1940s some 90% of the generating capacity
was fired by coal
, with oil
providing most of the remainder.
The UK started to develop a nuclear generating
capacity in the 1950s, with Calder Hall being connected to the grid on 27 August 1956. Though the production of weapons-grade
plutonium
was the main reason behind this power station
, other civil stations followed, and 26% of the nation's electricity was generated from nuclear power at its peak in 1997.
Despite the flow of North Sea oil from the mid 1970s, oil fuelled generation remained relatively small and continued to decline.
Starting in 1993, and continuing through to the 1990s, a combination of factors led to a so-called Dash for Gas
, during which the use of coal was scaled back in favour of gas fuelled generation. This was sparked by the privatisation of the National Coal Board
, British Gas
, the Central Electricity Generating Board, the introduction of laws facilitating competition within the energy markets, and the availability of cheap gas from the North Sea
. In 1990 just 1.09% of all gas consumed in the country was used in electricity generation. By 2004 the figure was 30.25%.
By 2004, coal use in power stations had fallen by 43.6% (50.5 million tonnes, representing 82.4% of all coal used in 2004) compared to 1980 levels, though up slightly from its low in 1999.
From the mid 1990s new renewable energy
sources began to contribute to the electricity generated, adding to a small hydroelectricity
generating capacity.
By 2004, total electricity production stood at 382.7 TWh
(up 23.7% compared to 309.4 TWh in 1990), generated from the following sources:
UK Government energy policy
expects that the total contribution from renewables should rise to 10% by 2010. The Scottish Executive
has a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's
electricity from renewables by 2010, rising to 40% by 2020.
will close due to being unable to meet the clean air requirements of the European Large Combustion Plant Directive (directive 2001/80/EC). In addition, the UK's remaining Magnox
nuclear stations will have closed by 2015. The oldest AGR
nuclear power station has had its life extended by ten years, and it is likely many of the others can be life-extended, reducing the potential gap suggested by the current accounting closure dates of between 2014 and 2023 for the AGR power stations.
A report from the industry in 2005 forecast that, without action to fill the gap, there would be a 20% shortfall in electricity generation capacity by 2015. Similar concerns were raised by a report published in 2000 by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
(Energy - The Changing Climate). The 2006 Energy Review attracted considerable press coverage - in particular in relation to the prospect of constructing a new generation of nuclear power stations, in order to prevent the rise in carbon dioxide emissions that would arise if other conventional power stations were to be built.
Among the public, according to a November 2005 poll conducted by YouGov
for Deloitte, 35% of the population expect that by 2020 the majority of electricity generation will come from renewable energy (more than double the government's target, and far larger than the 5.5% generated as of 2008), 23% expect that the majority will come from nuclear power, and only 18% that the majority will come from fossil fuels. 92% thought the Government should do more to explore alternative power generation technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
that they would proceed to construct the conventionally gas-fired Langage Power Station
.
In 2007, proposals for the construction of two new coal-fired power stations were announced, in Tilbury
, Essex and in Kingsnorth
, Kent. If built, they will be the first coal-fired stations to be built in the UK in 20 years.
Beyond these new plants, there are a number of options that might be used to provide the new generating capacity, while minimising carbon emissions and producing less residues and contamination. Fossil fuel power plant
s might provide a solution if there was a satisfactory and economical way of reducing their carbon emissions. Carbon capture
might provide a way of doing this; however the technology is relatively untried and costs are relatively high. As yet (2006) there are no power plants in operation with a full carbon capture and storage system.
, the four countries of the United Kingdom have different energy mixes and ambitions. Scotland
currently has a target of 80 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2020, with an interim target of 31 per cent by 2011. It has a quarter of the EU's estimated offshore wind potential, and may also be at the forefront of testing various marine energy systems.
The installed nuclear capacity in the UK is between 10 and 11 GW. While nuclear power does not produce significant carbon dioxide in generation (though the construction
, mining
, waste handling and disposal
, and decommissioning
do generate some carbon emissions), it raises other environmental and security concerns. Despite this, it has enormous potential for generating electricity, when it is taken into consideration that uranium could last between a hundred years to thousands of years. However, even with changes to the planning system
to speed applications, there are doubts over whether the necessary timescale could be met, and over the financial viability of nuclear power with present oil and gas prices. With no nuclear plants having been constructed since Sizewell B in 1995, there are also likely to be capacity issues within the native nuclear industry. The existing privatised nuclear supplier, British Energy
, had been in financial trouble in 2004.
Since the EDF takeover of British Energy in early 2009, plans have been put in place to build two new nuclear power stations (Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C
).
In addition, in November 2009 the government published the Nuclear National Policy Statement in which it announced that it had approved the construction of 10 new nuclear power plants around the country, but none were expected to be operational until 2018 at the earliest.
As of September 2010, the installed nameplate capacity
of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5 gigawatts (GW), representing a real terms figure of approximately 1.5GW. Wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy in the UK after biomass
. Over 1 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2009, 800 MW onshore and 285 MW offshore (1 GW = 1000 MW). Growth has continued in 2010 with the milestone of 1 GW of installed offshore capacity passed in April 2010, by the completion of the Gunfleet Sands
and Robin Rigg
wind farms. The milestone of 5 GW of total installed capacity was reached in September 2010 with the opening of the Thanet
wind farm. RenewableUK estimates that more than 2 GW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years.
As of 1 October 2011, there were 295 operational wind farms in the UK, with 3,415 turbines and 5,752 MW of installed capacity. A further 3,497 MW worth of schemes are currently under construction, while another 5,363 MW have planning consent and some 9,254 MW are in planning awaiting approval.
Elexon - the UK electricity balancing and settlement code company, forecast the cumulative nameplate capacity of wind farms connected to the transmission network
to be 2.43 GW. On 6 September 2010 a historical peak of 1860 MW was recorded from these wind farms accounting for 4.7% of total generation at the time. Throughout 2009, an average 2.5% of UK electricity was generated by wind power
with a total of around 6.7% of UK electricity coming from all renewable sources. Such was the rise in new wind energy coming on stream between April & June 2011 renewable sources accounted for 9.6% of UK electricity, with wind now accounting for 4.7% on average. This is expected to rise dramatically in coming years, as a result of the British government's energy policy
strongly supporting new renewable energy
generating capacity. In the short to medium term, the bulk of this new capacity is expected to be provided by onshore and offshore wind power.
In 2007 the UK Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of EU’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Each EU member state was given its own allocated target; for the UK it is 15%. This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive
. As renewable heat and fuel production in the UK are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35–40% of the UK’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date, to be met largely by 33–35 GW of installed wind capacity.
In December 2007, the Government announced plans for a massive expansion of wind energy in the UK, by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of up to 25 GW worth of wind farm offshore sites in preparation for a new round of development. These proposed sites are in addition to the 8 GW worth of sites already awarded in the 2 earlier rounds of site allocations, Round 1 in 2001 and Round 2 in 2003. Taken together it is estimated that this would result in the construction of over 7,000 offshore wind turbines.
Combined heat and power plants
, where 'waste' hot water from generating is used for district heating
, are also a well tried technology in other parts of Europe. While it heats about 50% of all houses in Denmark
, Finland
, Poland
, Sweden
and Slovakia
, it currently only plays a small role in the UK. It has, however, been rising, and had reached an installed capacity of 5,777 MWe by 2004, up from around 2,500 MWe in 1990. The Government has targeted 10,000 MWe by 2010.
Research in the area of energy is carried out by a number of public and private sector bodies:
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
funds an energy programme spanning energy and climate change research. It aims to develop, embrace and exploit sustainable, low carbon and/or energy efficient technologies and systems to enable the UK to meet the Government’s energy and environmental targets by 2020. Its research includes renewable, conventional, nuclear and fusion
electricity supply as well as energy efficiency, fuel poverty
and other topics.
Since being established in 2004, the UK Energy Research Centre carries out research into demand reduction, future sources of energy, infrastructure and supply, energy systems, sustainability and materials for advanced energy systems.
The Energy Technologies Institute
, expected to begin operating in 2008, is to 'accelerate the development of secure, reliable and cost-effective low-carbon energy technologies towards commercial deployment'.
In relation to buildings, the Building Research Establishment carries out some research into energy conservation.
There is currently international research being conducted into Fusion power
. The ITER
reactor is currently being constructed at Cadarache
in France. The UK contributes towards this project through membership of the European Union
. Prior to this, an experimental Fusion reactor (the Joint European Torus
) had been built at Culham
in Oxfordshire.
In the media
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules
Joule
The joule ; symbol J) is a derived unit of energy or work in the International System of Units. It is equal to the energy expended in applying a force of one newton through a distance of one metre , or in passing an electric current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm for one second...
(EJ) - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total
World energy resources and consumption
]World energy consumption in 2010: over 5% growthEnergy markets have combined crisis recovery and strong industry dynamism. Energy consumption in the G20 soared by more than 5% in 2010, after the slight decrease of 2009. This strong increase is the result of two converging trends...
(while the UK accounts for under 1% of global population
World population
The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. As of today, it is estimated to be billion by the United States Census Bureau...
). Demand for electricity in 2006 was ~40GW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
typically, and ~60GW at peak; the total electricity consumed in 2006 was 1.25 exajoules.
The Low Carbon
Low-carbon economy
A Low-Carbon Economy or Low-Fossil-Fuel Economy is an economy that has a minimal output of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment biosphere, but specifically refers to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide...
Transition Plan launched by the British government in July 2009 aims at 30% of renewable and of 40% of low CO2-content fuels in electricity generation by 2020. The NDA announced winning bidders for its nuclear site auction and launched a new process for the Sellafield site to be closed by 2010.
These actions are occurring as Europe is facing the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. Europe’s consumptions shrank by 5% and primary production faced a noticeable drop as well. The trade deficit was reduced by 8%, respectively due to substantial cuts in energy imports.
Government policy
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
plays a key role in limiting greenhouse gas emissions toward avoiding dangerous climate change
Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change
The related terms "avoiding dangerous climate change" and "preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" date to 1995 and earlier, in the Second Assesment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change and previous science it cites.In 2002, the United Nations...
, and in meeting energy demand. Shifting availabilities of resources and development of technologies also change the country's energy mix through changes in costs.
Overview
| Energy in the United Kingdom | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capita | Prim. energy | Production | Import | Electricity | CO2-emission | |
| million | TWh | TWh | TWh | TWh | Mt | |
| 2004 | 59.8 | 2,718 | 2,619 | 135 | 371 | 537 |
| 2007 | 60.8 | 2,458 | 2,050 | 522 | 373 | 523 |
| 2008 | 61.4 | 2,424 | 1,939 | 672 | 372 | 511 |
| 2009 | 61.8 | 2,288 | 1,848 | 641 | 352 | 466 |
| Change 2004-2009 | 3.3 % | -15.8 % | -29.4 % | 373 % | -5.3 % | -13.3 % |
| Mtoe = 11.63 TWh>, Prim. energy includes energy losses that are 2/3 for nuclear power |
||||||
Fossil fuels
During 2008, the total energy consumed in the UK was 234.439 million tonnes of oil equivalent (= circa 9.85 EJ = 9.85*1018J).Concerns over peak oil
Peak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
have been raised by high-profile voices in the UK such as Sir David King and the Industry Task-Force on Peak Oil and Energy Security. The latter's 2010 report states that "The next five years will see us face another crunch - the oil crunch. This time, we do have the chance to prepare. The challenge is to use that time well." (Sir Richard Branson and Ian Marchant
Ian Marchant
Ian Derek Marchant has been the Chief Executive Officer of Scottish and Southern Energy since 2002.-Early life:He attended the independent Trinity School of John Whitgift. Afterwards he gained a BA in from Durham University....
).
Natural gas
United Kingdom produced 60 % of its consumed natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
in 2010. In five years the United Kingdom moved from almost gas self-sufficient to 40% gas import in 2010. Share of gas in TPES was almost 40 % and in electricity over 45 % in 2010. Underground storage was about 5 % annual demand and above 10 % of net imports. There is alternative fuel obligation in UK.
Gasfields include Amethyst gasfield
Amethyst gasfield
Amethyst is a natural gas field in the Southern North Sea, about east of the Yorkshire coast. The gas lies in a Permian sandstone reservoir around below the seabed. The gasfield is operated by BP.-History:...
, Armada gasfield
Armada gasfield
The Armada gas field complex is a group of natural gas fields located in the Central North Sea NE of Aberdeen, within the United Kingdom Continental Shelf. The field is operated by BG Group. The complex consists of several fields developed via a central platform located in of water. The field...
, Easington Catchment Area
Easington Catchment Area
The Easington Catchment Area is a group of natural gas producing fields in the North Sea. They lie between 25 and 30 miles from the Yorkshire coast....
, East Knapton
East Knapton
East Knapton is a village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England.-Geography:It is just north of the A64 near the junction with the B1258. The Malton - Scarborough railway line is just north of the village and runs close to the . Until 1930, there was a railway station...
, Everest gasfield
Everest gasfield
The Everest gasfield is located in the Central North Sea, east of Aberdeen, Scotland. It lies in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf blocks 22/9, 22/10a and 22/14a. The gasfield was discovered by Amoco in 1982 with first gas produced in 1993. Until 2009, the field was operated by BP...
and Rhum gasfield
Rhum gasfield
The Rhum Gas Field is located north-east of Aberdeen in 109 metres of water. Gas production and export began on 20 December 2005....
.
Electricity supply
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
nationalisation of the industry in 1948 and the mid 1960s. During the 1960s growth slowed as the market became saturated
Market saturation
In economics, "market saturation" is a term used to describe a situation in which a product has become diffused within a market; the actual level of saturation can depend on consumer purchasing power; as well as competition, prices, and technology....
.
Fuel sources
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
was fired by coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, with oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
providing most of the remainder.
The UK started to develop a nuclear generating
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
capacity in the 1950s, with Calder Hall being connected to the grid on 27 August 1956. Though the production of weapons-grade
Weapons-grade
A weapons-grade substance is one that is pure enough to be used to make a weapon or has properties that make it suitable for weapons use. Weapons-grade plutonium and uranium are the most common examples, but it may also be used to refer to chemical and biological weapons...
plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
was the main reason behind this power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, other civil stations followed, and 26% of the nation's electricity was generated from nuclear power at its peak in 1997.
Despite the flow of North Sea oil from the mid 1970s, oil fuelled generation remained relatively small and continued to decline.
Starting in 1993, and continuing through to the 1990s, a combination of factors led to a so-called Dash for Gas
Dash for Gas
The Dash for Gas was the significant shift by the newly privatized electric companies in the United Kingdom towards generation of electricity using natural gas during the 1990s....
, during which the use of coal was scaled back in favour of gas fuelled generation. This was sparked by the privatisation of the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
, British Gas
British Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
, the Central Electricity Generating Board, the introduction of laws facilitating competition within the energy markets, and the availability of cheap gas from the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. In 1990 just 1.09% of all gas consumed in the country was used in electricity generation. By 2004 the figure was 30.25%.
By 2004, coal use in power stations had fallen by 43.6% (50.5 million tonnes, representing 82.4% of all coal used in 2004) compared to 1980 levels, though up slightly from its low in 1999.
From the mid 1990s new renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
sources began to contribute to the electricity generated, adding to a small hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
generating capacity.
TWH
TWH or twh could refer to:*Tennessee Walking Horse, a breed of horse* Toronto Western Hospital, a hospital in Toronto, Canada* TWH Bus & Coach, a bus company in Romford, England* Terrawatt-hour, measure of electrical energy, 1012 watt-hours...
(up 23.7% compared to 309.4 TWh in 1990), generated from the following sources:
- gas – 39.93% (0.05% in 1990)
- coal – 33.08% (67.22% in 1990)
- nuclear – 19.26% (18.97% in 1990)
- renewables – 3.55% (0% in 1990)
- hydroelectric – 1.10% (2.55% in 1990)
- imports – 1.96% (3.85% in 1990)
- oil – 1.12% (6.82% in 1990)
UK Government energy policy
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
expects that the total contribution from renewables should rise to 10% by 2010. The Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
has a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
electricity from renewables by 2010, rising to 40% by 2020.
The UK 'energy gap'
In the early years of the 2000s, concerns grew over the prospect of an 'energy gap' in UK generating capacity. This is forecast to arise because it is expected that a number of coal fired power stationsFossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
will close due to being unable to meet the clean air requirements of the European Large Combustion Plant Directive (directive 2001/80/EC). In addition, the UK's remaining Magnox
Magnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
nuclear stations will have closed by 2015. The oldest AGR
Advanced gas-cooled reactor
An advanced gas-cooled reactor is a type of nuclear reactor. These are the second generation of British gas-cooled reactors, using graphite as the neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant...
nuclear power station has had its life extended by ten years, and it is likely many of the others can be life-extended, reducing the potential gap suggested by the current accounting closure dates of between 2014 and 2023 for the AGR power stations.
A report from the industry in 2005 forecast that, without action to fill the gap, there would be a 20% shortfall in electricity generation capacity by 2015. Similar concerns were raised by a report published in 2000 by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues...
(Energy - The Changing Climate). The 2006 Energy Review attracted considerable press coverage - in particular in relation to the prospect of constructing a new generation of nuclear power stations, in order to prevent the rise in carbon dioxide emissions that would arise if other conventional power stations were to be built.
Among the public, according to a November 2005 poll conducted by YouGov
YouGov
YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...
for Deloitte, 35% of the population expect that by 2020 the majority of electricity generation will come from renewable energy (more than double the government's target, and far larger than the 5.5% generated as of 2008), 23% expect that the majority will come from nuclear power, and only 18% that the majority will come from fossil fuels. 92% thought the Government should do more to explore alternative power generation technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
Plugging the energy gap
The first move to plug the UK's energy gap was the June 2006 announcement by CentricaCentrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
that they would proceed to construct the conventionally gas-fired Langage Power Station
Langage Power Station
Langage Power Station is to be constructed near the city of Plymouth in Devon, England.Centrica, owners of the site, announced on 16 June 2006 that the natural gas fired power station was to be constructed on their behalf by Alstom. Section 36 consent was granted in 2000 and Reserved Matters were...
.
In 2007, proposals for the construction of two new coal-fired power stations were announced, in Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
, Essex and in Kingsnorth
Kingsnorth (Medway)
Kingsnorth is a place in Kent, England, on the south side of the Hoo Peninsula. It is distinct from the village of Kingsnorth, also in Kent, near Ashford. The nearest village is Hoo St Werburgh and the nearest town Rochester, Kent....
, Kent. If built, they will be the first coal-fired stations to be built in the UK in 20 years.
Beyond these new plants, there are a number of options that might be used to provide the new generating capacity, while minimising carbon emissions and producing less residues and contamination. Fossil fuel power plant
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
s might provide a solution if there was a satisfactory and economical way of reducing their carbon emissions. Carbon capture
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...
might provide a way of doing this; however the technology is relatively untried and costs are relatively high. As yet (2006) there are no power plants in operation with a full carbon capture and storage system.
Regional differences
While in some ways limited by which powers are devolvedDevolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
, the four countries of the United Kingdom have different energy mixes and ambitions. Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
currently has a target of 80 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2020, with an interim target of 31 per cent by 2011. It has a quarter of the EU's estimated offshore wind potential, and may also be at the forefront of testing various marine energy systems.
Nuclear
The installed nuclear capacity in the UK is between 10 and 11 GW. While nuclear power does not produce significant carbon dioxide in generation (though the construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, waste handling and disposal
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
, and decommissioning
Nuclear decommissioning
Nuclear decommissioning is the dismantling of a nuclear power plant and decontamination of the site to a state no longer requiring protection from radiation for the general public...
do generate some carbon emissions), it raises other environmental and security concerns. Despite this, it has enormous potential for generating electricity, when it is taken into consideration that uranium could last between a hundred years to thousands of years. However, even with changes to the planning system
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
to speed applications, there are doubts over whether the necessary timescale could be met, and over the financial viability of nuclear power with present oil and gas prices. With no nuclear plants having been constructed since Sizewell B in 1995, there are also likely to be capacity issues within the native nuclear industry. The existing privatised nuclear supplier, British Energy
British Energy
British Energy was the UK's largest electricity generation company by volume, before being taken over by Électricité de France in 2009. British Energy operated eight former UK state-owned nuclear power stations and one coal fired power station....
, had been in financial trouble in 2004.
Since the EDF takeover of British Energy in early 2009, plans have been put in place to build two new nuclear power stations (Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is a proposed development for a new nuclear power station in Somerset, England.In September 2008 it was announced, by Electricité de France the new owners of Hinkley Point B, that a third, twin-unit European Pressurised Reactor reactor is planned for Hinkley...
).
In addition, in November 2009 the government published the Nuclear National Policy Statement in which it announced that it had approved the construction of 10 new nuclear power plants around the country, but none were expected to be operational until 2018 at the earliest.
Wind power
Nameplate capacity
Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity or maximum effect, refers to the intended technical full–load sustained output of a facility such as a power plant, a chemical plant, fuel plant, metal refinery, mine, and many others.For dispatchable power,...
of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5 gigawatts (GW), representing a real terms figure of approximately 1.5GW. Wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy in the UK after biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
. Over 1 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online during 2009, 800 MW onshore and 285 MW offshore (1 GW = 1000 MW). Growth has continued in 2010 with the milestone of 1 GW of installed offshore capacity passed in April 2010, by the completion of the Gunfleet Sands
Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm
Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm 172MW wind farm 7 km off the Clacton-on-Sea and Holland Essex coast in the Northern Thames Estuary, commissioned on 15 June 2010. It has 48 Siemens Wind Power wind turbines of 3.6 MW capacity each. Construction began in March 2008 and the first two turbines...
and Robin Rigg
Robin Rigg Wind Farm
Robin Rigg Wind Farm, Scotland's first offshore wind farm, has been constructed by E.ON at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth, a sandbank midway between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts. The windfarm first generated power for test purposes on 9 September 2009...
wind farms. The milestone of 5 GW of total installed capacity was reached in September 2010 with the opening of the Thanet
Thanet Offshore Wind Project
The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. As of September 2010, it is the world's biggest offshore windfarm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780-900 million...
wind farm. RenewableUK estimates that more than 2 GW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years.
As of 1 October 2011, there were 295 operational wind farms in the UK, with 3,415 turbines and 5,752 MW of installed capacity. A further 3,497 MW worth of schemes are currently under construction, while another 5,363 MW have planning consent and some 9,254 MW are in planning awaiting approval.
Elexon - the UK electricity balancing and settlement code company, forecast the cumulative nameplate capacity of wind farms connected to the transmission network
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
to be 2.43 GW. On 6 September 2010 a historical peak of 1860 MW was recorded from these wind farms accounting for 4.7% of total generation at the time. Throughout 2009, an average 2.5% of UK electricity was generated by wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
with a total of around 6.7% of UK electricity coming from all renewable sources. Such was the rise in new wind energy coming on stream between April & June 2011 renewable sources accounted for 9.6% of UK electricity, with wind now accounting for 4.7% on average. This is expected to rise dramatically in coming years, as a result of the British government's energy policy
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
strongly supporting new renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
generating capacity. In the short to medium term, the bulk of this new capacity is expected to be provided by onshore and offshore wind power.
In 2007 the UK Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of EU’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. Each EU member state was given its own allocated target; for the UK it is 15%. This was formalised in January 2009 with the passage of the EU Renewables Directive
Renewables Directive
The Renewables Directive is a European Union directive which mandates levels of renewable energy use within the European Union. Published 23rd April, 2009, its official title is 2009/28/EC...
. As renewable heat and fuel production in the UK are at extremely low bases, RenewableUK estimates that this will require 35–40% of the UK’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by that date, to be met largely by 33–35 GW of installed wind capacity.
In December 2007, the Government announced plans for a massive expansion of wind energy in the UK, by conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of up to 25 GW worth of wind farm offshore sites in preparation for a new round of development. These proposed sites are in addition to the 8 GW worth of sites already awarded in the 2 earlier rounds of site allocations, Round 1 in 2001 and Round 2 in 2003. Taken together it is estimated that this would result in the construction of over 7,000 offshore wind turbines.
Cogeneration
Cogeneration
Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....
, where 'waste' hot water from generating is used for district heating
District heating
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
, are also a well tried technology in other parts of Europe. While it heats about 50% of all houses in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, it currently only plays a small role in the UK. It has, however, been rising, and had reached an installed capacity of 5,777 MWe by 2004, up from around 2,500 MWe in 1990. The Government has targeted 10,000 MWe by 2010.
Energy research
Historically, public sector support for energy research and development in the UK has been provided by a variety of bodies with little co-ordination between them. Problems experienced have included poor continuity of funding, and the availability of funding for certain parts of the research-development-commercialisation process but not others. Levels of public funding have also been low by international standards, and funding by the private sector has also been limited.Research in the area of energy is carried out by a number of public and private sector bodies:
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences , mainly to universities in the United Kingdom...
funds an energy programme spanning energy and climate change research. It aims to develop, embrace and exploit sustainable, low carbon and/or energy efficient technologies and systems to enable the UK to meet the Government’s energy and environmental targets by 2020. Its research includes renewable, conventional, nuclear and fusion
Fusion power
Fusion power is the power generated by nuclear fusion processes. In fusion reactions two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus . In doing so they release a comparatively large amount of energy arising from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is manifested...
electricity supply as well as energy efficiency, fuel poverty
Fuel poverty
A household is said to be in fuel poverty when they cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost, given it's income. The term is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, although the concept also applies everywhere in the world where poverty may be present.As the term fuel...
and other topics.
Since being established in 2004, the UK Energy Research Centre carries out research into demand reduction, future sources of energy, infrastructure and supply, energy systems, sustainability and materials for advanced energy systems.
The Energy Technologies Institute
United Kingdom Energy Technologies Institute
The Energy Technologies Institute is a UK based company formed from global industries and the UK government. It brings together projects that create affordable, reliable, clean energy for heat, power, transport and associated infrastructure....
, expected to begin operating in 2008, is to 'accelerate the development of secure, reliable and cost-effective low-carbon energy technologies towards commercial deployment'.
In relation to buildings, the Building Research Establishment carries out some research into energy conservation.
There is currently international research being conducted into Fusion power
Fusion power
Fusion power is the power generated by nuclear fusion processes. In fusion reactions two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus . In doing so they release a comparatively large amount of energy arising from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is manifested...
. The ITER
ITER
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering project, which is currently building the world's largest and most advanced experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in the south of France...
reactor is currently being constructed at Cadarache
Cadarache
The CEA Cadarache facility is a French scientific research centre which specialises in nuclear energy research. It is located in the commune of Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, Bouches-du-Rhône, in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur...
in France. The UK contributes towards this project through membership of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Prior to this, an experimental Fusion reactor (the Joint European Torus
Joint European Torus
JET, the Joint European Torus, is the largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment worldwide currently in operation. Its main purpose is to open the way to future nuclear fusion experimental tokamak reactors such as ITER and :DEMO....
) had been built at Culham
Culham
Culham is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Thames, just over south of Abingdon in Oxfordshire.-Manor:The toponym comes from the Old English Cula's hamm, referring to the village's position in a bend of the Thames...
in Oxfordshire.
See also
- Renewable energy in the United KingdomRenewable energy in the United KingdomFrom the mid 1990s renewable energy began to contribute to the electricity generated in the United Kingdom, adding to a small hydroelectricity generating capacity...
- Energy conservation in the United KingdomEnergy conservation in the United KingdomVarious energy conservation measures are taken in the United Kingdom.Much of the emphasis in energy debates tends to focus on the supply side of the issue, and ignore the demand. A number of commentators are concerned that this is being largely overlooked, partly due to the strength of the energy...
- Greenhouse gas emissions by the United KingdomGreenhouse gas emissions by the United KingdomThere has been a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom.Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to drive global warming and ocean acidification. Under the Kyoto protocol the UK Government committed to reducing the levels of and five other greenhouse gases by...
- Economy of the United KingdomEconomy of the United KingdomThe economy of the United Kingdom is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal GDP and seventh-largest measured by purchasing power parity , and the third-largest in Europe measured by nominal GDP and second-largest measured by PPP...
- Energy switching services in the UKEnergy switching services in the UKEnergy switching services are a kind of company that has come to exist since the EU began deregulating the gas and electricity markets, to open them to international competition, in 1996. Progress has been uneven across member countries, but in the UK there is now open competition among suppliers...
- National Industrial Symbiosis ProgrammeNational Industrial Symbiosis ProgrammeNational Industrial Symbiosis Programme is a free innovative business opportunity programme delivering triple bottom line, environmental, economic and social benefits across the UK. As a holistic program, NISP impacts across the entire resource hierarchy, delivering industrial CO2 reductions by...
- Meter Point Administration NumberMeter Point Administration NumberA Meter Point Administration Number, also known as MPAN, Supply Number or S-Number, is a 21-digit reference used in Great Britain to uniquely identify electricity supply points such as individual domestic residences. The gas equivalent is the Meter Point Reference Number...
External links
- IEAInternational Energy AgencyThe International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
Graph: Evolution of Electricity Generation by Fuel from 1971 to 2003 (pdf) - DTI UK Energy Statistics
- DTI 2006 Energy Review
- DEFRA Market Transformation Programme
- DEFRA The UK element of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme
- NISPNational Industrial Symbiosis ProgrammeNational Industrial Symbiosis Programme is a free innovative business opportunity programme delivering triple bottom line, environmental, economic and social benefits across the UK. As a holistic program, NISP impacts across the entire resource hierarchy, delivering industrial CO2 reductions by...
National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) - UK Energy Research Centre
- Map of UK power stations
- Friends of the Earth: The Future starts here: the route to a low carbon economy
- The Rise of the Machines: A review of energy using products in the home
- Market Transformation Programme: Consumer Electronics
- Energy Consumption & Production in the UK
- Energy Analyses in UK
- Map of the UK oil and gas infrastructure
In the media
- September 2006, NewBuilder, Climate Change perceived as greater threat than terrorism
- May 2006, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Survey: Your electricity choices revealed - May 2006, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Minister's links to nuclear lobby - May 2006, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Blair backs nuclear power plans - March 2006, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Global warming: Your chance to change the climate - March 2006, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Is DIY power generation going to be the next big thing? - January 2006, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, The UK's energy debate has been framed wrongly - May 2002, European Environmental BureauEuropean Environmental BureauThe European Environmental Bureau is a federation of over 140 environmental citizens’ organisations based in all 27 European Union Member States, potential Member States and a few neighbouring countries. These organisations range from local and national, to European and international...
, Biofuels not as green as they sound - June 2000, RCEP, Royal commission calls for transformation in the UK's use of energy to counter climate change