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Energy in the UK
In the UK, energy is mainly consumed in one of three forms:
Petroleum (mainly for transport) Gas (heating and cooking) Electricity (lighting, electronic devices etc.)
Electricity is the form of energy which affects us all directly. Just take a moment to think of all the things that you could not do without electricity. We rely on electricity for almost everything that we do – charging phones, watching tv, using the washing machine, lighting, air conditioning.
The demand for electricity in the UK and across the world is going up. The population is growing and people are starting to use more and more devices which rely on electricity.
Electricity makes our lives better in so many ways. It is important that we make sure that we have a reliable and secure supply of electricity so that we can continue to live our lives as we want to, now and in the future.
The UK's Energy Mix
What do we mean by "Energy Mix"?
When we talk about the energy industry and the "energy mix" we are usually referring to electricity generation.
In the UK we use several different methods to produce electricity for the grid (the network that connects our homes to electricity generators). The energy mix refers to these different methods and how much of our electricity they each produce. The table below shows the UK’s energy mix.
These numbers change throughout the day and depending on the season. For a live status of the electritiy generation and demand in the U.K, visit Gridwatch by clicking here.
Normally, we classify electricity generation technologies into two groups:
Fossil fuel’ technologies that produce greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide and Methane) which cause man-made climate change - coal and natural gas.
Those technologies that do not release greenhouse gases are recognised as clean energy - nuclear, wind and other renewable energy sources.
Why is the Energy Mix important?
So why would we choose to use one electricity generation technology instead of another? When talking about energy and electricity, there are several key points that are often talked about:
Security of supply – we must be able to guarantee that we can make enough electricity.
Climate change – some technologies release gases which are bad for the environment, contributing to climate change.
Health – some of the pollution released by burning fossil fuels is harmful to human health.
Economics – some technologies are more expensive than others.
Each electricity generation technology will have advantages and disadvantages for each of these points. Currently about 65% of the UK’s energy mix is ‘fossil fuel’ technologies and directly contributes to man-made climate change. The scientific community knows that this has to change.
We believe that the UK must develop the skills and technologies necessary to change our energy mix so that it is mainly consists of clean energy sources which can provide us with a reliable electricity supply in the future. To do this, the technologies must:
Reliably produce lots of energy – to let us live life as we want to.
Not release greenhouse gases – to stop contributing to climate change.
Be low pollution – to prevent health problems.
For more information current technologies visit our Useful Links page, here.
Click here to visit our next information topic and learn about why nuclear power is important.
