UK shifts from gas to coal in 2012

• 11 years ago (2013-03-01)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1089 Nuclear 659 Renewables 776

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The UK’s generation mix during 2012 was marked by a profound shift from gas to coal, with coal burn reaching its highest level since 1996 and gas output at its lowest since the same year, according to provisional figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The combined effects of cheaper coal, more expensive gas and crashed carbon prices resulted in a fundamental shift in the UK, with coal accounting for 42.8 per cent of electricity supplied in 2012, up from around 30 per cent in 2011, and gas's share falling to 27.6 per cent, down from around 40 per cent a year earlier.

DECC said that the switch from gas to coal had resulted in “an increased demand for primary energy” as “gas generation is thermally more efficient than coal generation."

The UK's 2012 temperature-adjusted primary energy consumption was estimated by the DECC at 210 million mt of oil equivalent, lower year on year but around 1 per cent higher than it would have been if gas had remained dominant.

Nuclear generation remained in third position, growing 2.1 per cent year-on-year to account for 20.8 per cent of the total mix and more than 70 per cent of low carbon energy.

Wind generation was also up, 33 per cent in 2012, and its share of the total grew to 5.5 per cent from 4 per cent in 2011.

Bioenergy gained 46 per cent, year-on-year, climbing to a 1.9 per cent share, while hydro fell 9 per cent, with its share diminishing slightly to 1.4 per cent, due to lower rainfall.

Overall, low-carbon energy continued to grow in 2012, accounting for 29.6 per cent of total generation, up from 26.7 per cent in 2011.