- Primary energy production fell by 10.7% compared to the previous year.
- Energy Imports rose by 6.9% with Norway imports of 46% and 55% for crude oil and gas respectively.
From these stats it is easy to see that the UK remains a net importer of energy and our dependence level increased by 43%. Below is a graph showing the trends from 1970 to the current day.
On a more positive note, electricity generated from renewable sources has risen to 11.3%, including a 46% increase in offshore wind generation. This increase in clean energy is made somewhat insignificant by the 24.5 increase in coal consumption. Rising oil and gas prices lead to a shift over to coal which has reduced in price since the US shale gas boom.
The UK do look like they are on track for the 15% production from renewable sources in 2020. However when comparing this target to other countries in the EU it doesn’t seem like the UK is putting as much effort into renewable sources as it should be. Sweden, for example, are very close to achieving their target of 49%. Norway (the country from which we are importing) have a target of 67.5%. Are these Scandinavian examples ones which we should follow?
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