Where does our gas and electricity come from?

22 April 2010 15:59:16

Wind power may play a bigger role in future.

Energy use in the domestic sector accounts for around 30% of total UK energy consumption and has risen by 23% over the last 35 years, according to a report published in 2008 by BRE Housing. As central heating systems have become more commonplace, people's expectations of indoor temperatures have risen, placing increasing demand on energy supply. In addition, the number of households in Great Britain has increased by 7.3m since 1970, while today's homes have more electrical appliances than ever before.

But where does all of this energy come from?

Primary energy sources

In 2007, 38% of UK energy was derived from oil; 37.7% from natural gas; 16.7% from coal; 5.8% from nuclear power; and 1.8% from renewable sources, according to the then Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Our reliance on coal is expected to decrease, largely because of the environmental implications associated with burning fossil fuels. However, availability of coal is good in the UK and efforts are ongoing to develop 'clean coal' technologies, which would enable a reduction in the carbon dioxide emissions produced during the burning of coal.

The 1990s saw a large increase in the number of electricity companies relying on natural gas from the North Sea. Research also suggests that more than half of the North Sea's oil reserves have now been extracted and production has fallen dramatically in recent years. Britain is now a net importer of crude oil and is expected to become a major importer of oil and gas by 2015.

Nuclear power is an alternative to fossil-fuel power sources, as its generation produces far fewer greenhouse gases than traditional means of power generation. There are other environmental concerns involving radioactive effluent, waste heat and the mining of uranium, which is the fuel most commonly used by nuclear plants. However, the world has substantial reserves of uranium and nuclear power is widely seen as a viable alternative to oil, gas and coal.

Green energy sources

A small proportion of the UK's energy is generated from so-called 'green' energy sources, which are environmentally-friendly and create less pollution than traditional sources. Over one-third of carbon emissions are generated in the home, according to the Renewable Energy Centre, which claims that an increased reliance on green energy could therefore greatly reduce our impact on the environment.

Some of the more well-known renewable energy sources include wind, solar, tidal and geothermal power, which comes from heat stored in the earth.

The future of renewable energy

The UK's reliance on renewable energy sources is set to increase as the nation attempts to cut its carbon emissions. According to the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, published in July 2009, over 1.5m homes will generate their own renewable energy by 2020 and 40% of the country's electricity will be generated from low-carbon sources, such as renewable, nuclear power and clean coal.

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