9. 2003 UK Energy Statistics

CHP at all time low

The latest Digest of UK Energy Statistics (‘DUKES’), the authoritative document on energy use in the UK, reveals that the Government has failed to achieve its original target of installing 5000 megawatts of Combined Heat and Power plant electricty generating  capacity (i.e. 5000 ‘MWe’) by the year 2000. This target was set in 1993 as a key environmental output of the Rio Earth Summit in helping the UK reduce its emissions.

The Digest, which details information for CHP operation over the calendar year 2002, reveals that CHP capacity has fallen for the first time from a 2001 figure of 4753 MWe to 4742 MWe in 2002- so that 11 MWe less CHP was operating in 2002 than in 2001. The DTI say ‘This was due to the closure of 22 schemes’. This drop follows a dismal performance in 2001, when only 38MWe of new CHP capacity was added. Investment in 600MWe of new CHP capacity is needed each year if the Government is to achieve its target of 10GWe of CHP by 2010.

The CHP Association said that this years shortfall meant that the opportunity to save an additional 1.2m tonnes of carbon has been lost, and that the loss of generating capacity will also fuel speculation of an impending crisis in security of electricity supply, as more and more power plant is taken out of commission. 

Deputy Director of the CHPA, Graham Meeks commented that the DUKES figures ought to be “a massive wake-up call to Government over its sustainable energy ambitions. Despite the brave words in the Energy White Paper, these figures show how much remains to be done over the pressing question of climate change. The industry can’t live with any more prevarication. To stand a chance of hitting its target Government must act quickly to restore confidence in the sector.”

He added “Government claims that they have the policies to deliver 10GWe by 2010 are frankly not credible. These figures must be the reality-check that brings forward coherent, effective policies instead of the drip-feed of half-hearted measures that the Energy White Paper proposed.”

More than a quarter of the overall energy efficiency target for 2002 -2005  has already been met according to new OFGEM report. Around 300,000 lofts and cavity walls insulated in the first year of the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC). OFGEM says that in the first year, suppliers have achieved 17.2TWh of energy saving, enough to meet the total domestic energy demand for Birmingham and Leeds for a year.  About 60% of the  savings  came from insulation, 20% from low energy  lightbulbs. 

The EEC, which began in April 2002, is set by DEFRA and requires gas and electricity suppliers with at least 15,000 domestic customers, to meet a combined energy savings target of 62TWh by 2005,  equivalent to a 1% per annum reduction in carbon emissions from households.

The current EEC is expected to curb household carbon emissions by 0.4MtC per annum, or by 1%.  The Energy White Paper ‘Our energy future - creating a low carbon economy’ stated that the Government intends to consult on expanding the EEC at possibly twice its current level of activity after 2005.  Overall the Government aims to reduce CO2 emissions from the domestic sector by 3.5m tonnes p.a. by 2010.

Alongside report on the EEC, Ofgem has also published a joint review with the Energy Saving Trust on the Energy Efficiency Standards of Performance programme (EESoP), the forerunner to the EEC.  It notes that, under the EESoP programme, suppliers had delivered 4.4m tonnes of carbon reductions.

·        The DEFRA/EST/OFGEM reviews of the first year of the EEC and of the EESoPs are available at: http://www.ofgem.gov.uk

Renewables grow by 13%

The 2003 DUKES showed that electricity generated from renewable sources was 13% greater in 2002 than in 2001 and represented 3.0% of total UK electricity generation. Installed generating capacity using renewable sources rose by 3.5% in 2002, mainly as a result of a 25% increase in wind capacity and a 5% increase in energy from biofuels and wastes. 

2002 Energy Trends- overview

Overall in 2002 there was a decrease in both indigenous fuel production and fuel consumption in the UK (by 2 and 2.5% respectively from 2001). The reduction in consumption was caused by factors such as the worldwide economic slowdown and mild weather.  Consumption decreased in the transport, domestic and commercial sectors, but there were slight rises in industry and non-energy uses.

Overall gas consumption fell by 1% but gas demand for electricity generation rose by 5 % taking gas’s share of the supply of electricity to almost 40%.

The domestic sector was the largest electricity consumer (115 TWh), industry was close second (112 TWh).  Nuclear power supplied 24 % of UK electricity in 2002.            Source: DUKES

 www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/dukes/

Energy Consumption in the UK  1990-2002

 -Overall energy consumption between 1990 and 2002 increased by 9.9 million tonnes of oil equivalent. The changes in the main sectors, between 1990 and 2002 were: Industry: -10 per cent, Domestic: +17.5%, Transport: +12 %, Services & agriculture: +4 %, - Growth in energy consumption in the transport sector is slowing. By 2002, transport energy consumption had increased by 94 %since 1970, but only 12% out of that increase had taken place since 1990. The largest increase between 1990 and 2002 occurred in the air transport sector, where consumption rose by 53% to meet growing demand for international air travel.

- Domestic energy consumption increased by 17.5% between1990 and 2002. During this period the number of households increased by 10 %, the population by 2.5% and household disposable income by 39%.  Space heating accounted for about three-fifths of all energy consumed in the domestic sector and it is estimated that over the last thirty years, if savings from insulation and heating efficiency improvements had not been made, then energy consumption for space heating would be twice current levels.

 - In 2002, the largest sub-sector in the industrial sector was chemicals, which accounted for 22% of all industrial energy consumption. Since 1990 energy consumption in the chemicals sector  has increased by 23 %.

- In the service sector, energy consumption in the private sector increased by 18% between 1990 and 2002, but was unchanged in he public sector. At the same time, output, measured as the contribution made to the UK economy, increased by 53 % in the service sector and by 22% in the public sector.                                      

Source: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy_consumption/

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