Close-up
Factsheet: Energy in the United Kingdom
The Basics
What Energy Sources Are Consumed in the United Kingdom?
Primary energyAll energy sources that have not undergone any conversion process and remain in their natural state..
consumption in the United Kingdom broke down as follows in 2020:
| Natural gas | 37.8 % |
|---|---|
| Oil | 34.6 % |
| Renewables | 17.4 % |
| Nuclear | 6.5 % |
| CoalCoal is ranked by its degree of transformation or maturity, increasing in carbon content from... | 2.7 % |
| Hydro | 0.9 % |
- Total primary energy consumption (6.89 exajoules – EJ) decreased by 11% due to COVID-19 public health restrictions, particularly affecting transportation.
- Natural gas, for the first time since 2010, became the largest fossil primary energy source, while oil consumption plummeted by 22% (the COVID-19-induced decline in aviation activity was responsible for 47% of this decrease).
- Renewable energyEnergy sources that are naturally replenished so quickly that they can be considered inexhaustible on a human time scale... generation increased by 10% to 1.2 EJ, largely due to a rise in wind powerIn physics, power is the amount of energy supplied by a system per unit time. In simpler terms, power can be viewed as energy output... generation, which grew by 17% to 0.7 EJ.
- Renewables for the first time amounted to 17.4% of the primary energy mix.
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021, 70e édition
What Is This Energy Used For?
Here is a table detailing each sector’s share of final energy consumption as a %:
| Transportation | BiofuelsA fuel produced from plant or animal matter. There are currently two types of biofuel... , Waste, Oil | 33.44% |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | Gas, ElectricityForm of energy resulting from the movement of charged particles (electrons) through a conductor... | 32.46% |
| Manufacturing | Gas, Electricity, Oil | 17.36% |
| Commercial (offices, services, business) | Gas, Electricity, Oil | 16.74% |
Source: U.K. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
How Is Electricity Generated in the United Kingdom?
Electricity generation breaks down as follows by energy source (as a %):
| Renewables* | 40.87 % |
|---|---|
| Gas | 36.49 % |
| Nuclear | 16.09 % |
| Hydro | 2.08 % |
| Coal | 1.73 % |
| Oil | 0.29 % |
| Other | 2.46 % |
* Of which:
- Wind: 59.15 %
- Solar : 10.02 %
- Other (geothermalDescribes the technology used to tap subsurface heat to produce energy... , biomassIn the energy sector, biomass is defined as all organic matter of plant or animal origin... , biofuels, etc.): 30.83 %
- Fossil fuels no longer dominate power generation.
- Total power generation has been steadily decreasing since 2010. In 2020, it fell by 4% compared with 2019, partly as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis.
- Renewable power generation rose due to unusually high wind speeds in the first quarter of 2020.
The country’s electricity is generated:
- By wind farms, and more specifically by offshoreRefers to sea-based oil exploration and production operations, as in "offshore license" or "offshore drilling". wind assets. The United Kingdom is the world leader in offshore wind.
- By thermal power plants (nuclear reactors, gas-fired plants and a small number of oil-fired plants).
- By coal-fired power plants, although these will be phased out by 2024.
- By hydropower plants, such as the Dinorwig and Ffestiniog facilities in Wales.
Source : BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021, 70e édition
How Much CO2See Carbon Dioxid Does the United Kingdom Emit?
This chart shows the change in CO2 emissions since 2000 (in metric tons of CO2 per capita):
| United Kingdom | E.U.-28 | |
| 2000 | 12.5 | 10.8 |
| 2005 | 11.9 | 10.8 |
| 2010 | 10.1 | 9.8 |
| 2015 | 8.3 | 8.8 |
| 2016 | 7.8 | 8.7 |
| 2017 | 7.7 | 8.7 |
| 2018 | 7.5 | 8.6 |
| 2019 | 7.3 | 8.2 |
CO2 emissions are decreasing faster than in the rest of Europe as a whole. While U.K. emissions were originally much higher than the E.U. average, they had fallen to 0.9 metric tons per capita below the average in 2019. This figure should be analyzed in relation to the greater share of renewables in the energy mixThe range of energy sources of a region. .
Source: Eurostat, based on information from the European Environment Agency (EEA)
On the same topic
Future Challenges
What Are the United Kingdom’s Objectives?
1. Achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This objective was the subject of a 2019 amendment to the 2008 Climate Change Act, which previously aimed to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.
2. Start a green industrial revolution.
How Can They Be Achieved?
1. By permanently removing coal from the U.K. energy mix by 2024.
2. By progressively electrifying all economic sectors, including transportation.
3. By developing wind power, especially offshore wind, and increasing its generation capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2030.
4. By placing new energy technologies and innovation at the center of the government’s Clean Growth Strategy.
5. By investing in nuclear.
Quick Quiz: Energy and You
- Where is the world’s largest offshore wind farm?
Dogger Bank, a sandbank in the U.K. North Sea. This farm will host the world’s largest wind turbine, GE’s Haliade-X, measuring 260 meters high, with a 220-meter rotor, 107-meter-long blades and a 38,000-cubic-meter swept area.
- The sale of gasoline and dieselDiesel is the name of an internal combustion engine that works by compression-ignition...
vehicles in the United Kingdom will soon be banned. When?
In 2030, i.e., ten years before the deadline initially chosen by the government (France and Spain have given themselves until 2040).
- What is the green industrial revolution promised by Boris Johnson?
It is a ten-point plan that provides for initiatives such as a widespread shift to electric cars, an increase in wind power generation capacity, investments in nuclear power and hydrogenThe simplest and lightest atom, the most abundant element in the universe. production, housing and public building insulation and heating upgrades, and support for carbon capture and storage initiatives. This revolution is expected to create 250,000 jobs.
- What is the impact of the gas price spike that hit the United Kingdom in late September 2021?
With gas being the second most used energy source for power generation, the country was forced to restart coal-fired power plants that had been mothballed ahead of complete shutdown. Faced with this climate-compromising situation, Boris Johnson’s government announced on October 3, 2021, that fossil fuels would no longer be used to generate electricity by 2035.
- What is the name of the nuclear power plant whose construction officially began in 2018?
Hinkley Point C, an extension of the existing Hinkley Point A and Point B power plants located in Somerset. EDF Energy (the U.K. subsidiary of French utility EDF) is in charge of building two EPR reactors. Hinkley Point A was permanently shut down in 2015, and Hinkley Point B will be retired starting in 2022. Hinkley Point C is slated to come on stream in 2026.