Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2010

The Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2010 is published today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. With many detailed tables, supported by charts and commentary, the Digest provides comprehensive data for 2009 and an account of trends in energy supply and demand in the United Kingdom. 

Main trends in energy in 2009:

• Overall there was a decrease in indigenous energy production of 5.7% and a decrease in primary energy consumption of 6.3% in the UK compared with 2008, largely driven by the recession. 

• Overall primary fuel consumption was not met by indigenous production; this continues the trend from 2004 when the UK again became a net importer of fuel. The UK imported more coal, manufactured fuels, crude oil, electricity and gas than it exported. However the UK remained a net exporter of petroleum products.

• With the coal-gas price differential again high, the commercial attractiveness of gas for electricity generation remained high, while the amount of electricity generated from coal fell further, as nuclear stations returned from the outages of 2008 to increase output.  Gas accounted for 45% of electricity supplied in 2009, with coal accounting for 28% and nuclear 18%.

• Overall there was a decrease of 6.7% in final energy consumption in the UK compared with 2008. 

• The reduced demand for fossil fuels, and switching from coal to nuclear for electricity generation provisionally reduced the emissions of CO2 by 9.7% in 2009. 

• Electricity generated from renewable sources in the UK in 2009 represented 6.7% of total UK electricity generation, up from 5.6% in 2008. On a renewable obligation basis, 6.7% of electricity sales came from eligible renewable sources, up from 5.3% in 2008.  

• Refinery production decreased by 7% and petroleum product exports decreased by 11%.

• In 2009 Combined Heat and Power (CHP) capacity stood at 5569 MWe a small (1.4%) increase on 2008.

• In 2009 the energy industries’ accounted for 3.7% of GDP and 10.1% of total investment. 

Main energy production and trade statistics:

• Primary energy production in the United Kingdom in 2009, at 166.9 million t of oil equivalent, was 5.7% lower than in 2008. Production has now fallen in each year since 1999, and is down 43.9 per cent on 1999 levels, an average rate of decline of 5.6%.

• Gross natural gas production fell 14.3% in 2009. Gross natural gas production has fallen by 45 per cent since its peak in 2000.  Net imports of gas accounted for a third of gas input into the transmission system. LNG imports accounted for a quarter of gas imports compared to 2% in 2008.

• Crude oil (including NGLs) production in 2009 was 4.8% lower than in 2008 at 68 million t, and now accounts for 45% of indigenous energy production.

• Coal production was 1.0% lower in 2009 compared to 2008.  Imports of coal were also lower compared to 2008 (by 13.0%). These decreases coupled with a rise in stock levels has led to a 16.2% fall in total coal supply in 2009 (48.8 million t).

• Electricity supplied from nuclear sources has increased in 2009, accounting for 62.8 TWh out of the total electricity supply of 357.2 TWh (18%).  

Read the full Digest for free here.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/29072010/the_digest_of_united_kingdom_energy_statistics_2010/