SB 19/2013 Energy Generation and Consumption for Wales, 2011
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SB 19 /2013 27 February 2013 Energy Generation and Consumption for Wales, 2011 This is an inaugural annual statistical report on energy generation and consumption in Wales. The bulletin presents an overview of current and historic energy production/generation and consumption. It also looks at the different sources used in energy generation, with particular focus on renewable energy sources used in Wales and the rest of the UK. The information presented within the bulletin is based on the statistics collated and published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which publishes a range of energy statistics on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly and annually). These statistics allow the Welsh Government, energy producers and consumers to monitor trends, as well as providing an overall picture of energy production and consumption in recent years. The information is also used to monitor the effectiveness of current policy, particularly progress against the Programme for Government 2011 -2016 objectives and for future policy development For the most part this bulletin looks at changes in energy generation and consumption between 2004 and 2011, however some information on consumption is only available for 2005 to 2010. For more information on the quality of the statistics and the definitions used please refer to the ‘Key Quality Information’ and ‘Glossary’ sections towards the end of the bulletin. Key Results • The total amount of electricity generated in Wales has continued to fall since 2008, decreasing by 15 per cent between 2010 and 2011. This downward trend in mainly due to the decline in electricity generated from gas. • The total amount of electricity generated from renewable resources in Wales has been steadily increasing, rising by 33 per cent between 2010 and 2011, which is mainly due to the increase in wind generation. • The percentage of electricity generated in Wales from renewable sources has also continued to increase since 2004, reaching a peak of 7.9 per cent in 2011. This is higher than the percentage generated from renewable sources in England but slightly lower than that of the UK average (9.4 per cent). • Total energy consumption has been falling since 2005, though more so since 2007 which coincides with the economic downturn. It would appear that the industry and commercial sector accounts for a large proportion of this decline. Statistician: Rhiannon Caunt Tel: 029 2082 5616 Email: [email protected] Next update: February 2014 (provisional) Twitter: www.twitter.com/statisticswales | www.twitter.com/ystadegaucymru Contents 1. Electricity generation ................................................................................. 3 Total electricity generated ............................................................................................................. 3 Generation of electricity by fuel ................................................................................................... 4 2. Electricity generated from renewable sources ........................................ 6 Total renewable generation ........................................................................................................... 6 Renewable generation by source ..................................................................................................7 3. Electricity generation within the UK.......................................................... 8 4. Energy Consumption................................................................................ 10 Total energy consumption........................................................................................................... 10 Energy consumption by fuel ....................................................................................................... 11 Energy consumption by sector.................................................................................................... 12 Domestic energy consumption ................................................................................................... 13 Key Quality Information ............................................................................... 16 Glossary......................................................................................................... 20 2 1. Electricity generation Energy can be generated from various sources of natural fuel, such as gas, coal and oil. However energy generation usually refers specifically to electricity generation, which is the process of generating electric power from sources of energy. This section looks at the amount of electricity generated in Wales on an annual basis and how this has changed over time. It also looks at the different types of fuels that have been used to generate the electricity and the amount that is exported from Wales. The standard approach to measuring electricity generation on a national scale is in gigawatt hours (GWh), which is how the statistics in the section of this report are presented. Prior to 2008 the amount of electricity generated in Wales remained relatively stable with around 35,000 GWh generated each year. However in recent years the amount of electricity generated in Wales has been falling, with 27,300 GWh generated in 2011. It is noticeable that this change in trend occurred during a time when the country was in an economic downturn. Across the UK as a whole and amongst the devolved administrations electricity generation has also been generally falling in recent years, with the exception of Scotland. This may be due to reduced demand, possibly as a result of the economic climate, introduction of energy efficiency measures or milder winters. A more detailed look at energy consumption, later in this report, shows there has been a considerable decrease in consumption (11 per cent in Wales between 2005 and 2010). During 2011 the electricity generated in Wales accounted for just over 7 per cent of all the electricity generated in the UK. Chart 1 – Total electricity generated in Wales 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 GWh 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Source: Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) It would appear that the fall in electricity generation is primarily due to the decline in generation from gas. Gas is the main fuel used to generate electricity in Wales, and in recent years the amount of electricity generated from gas has been falling. This is most noticeable between 2010 and 2011 when the amount of electricity generated from gas fell by 33 per cent (5,400 GWh) as shown in Table 1. This may be as a result of increased gas prices, making it less economical to generate electricity from gas and leading to a slight increase (4 per cent) in coal used for generation. 3 Table 1– Generation of electricity by fuel in Wales Gigaw att hours 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Gas 17,363 15,926 14,940 17,182 16,546 14,580 16,033 10,670 Coal 7,234 6,772 8,859 5,121 9,364 6,547 5,929 6,170 Nuclear 7,388 7,842 7,010 5,684 7,080 6,122 5,532 5,364 Renewables 1,029 1,196 1,404 1,371 1,627 1,609 1,621 2,159 Oil & other 2,408 2,917 3,424 3,330 3,589 3,130 3,056 2,921 Total 35,422 34,653 35,636 32,688 38,205 31,988 32,170 27,284 Source: Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) Chart 2 below shows that electricity generated from coal fluctuated considerably between 2005 and 2008. This will largely be due to the shutdown and re-opening of the coal-fired Aberthaw Power Station during this period. Since 2008 it is noticeable there has been a general fall in the amount of electricity generated from both coal and nuclear, when the country was experiencing an economic downturn. However the downward trends for both these fuel types have leveled off more recently. Conversely, the amount of electricity generated by renewable sources has steadily been increasing and 2,200 GWh was generated in 2011, which is more than double that in 2004 (1,000 GWh). Chart 2 – Generation of electricity by fuel in Wales Gas Coal Nuclear Renewables Oil & other 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 GWh 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Source: Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) Wales is a net exporter of the electricity it generates, which differs to England which imports electricity from Wales, Scotland and from continental Europe. This means that Wales exports electricity generated here to consumers elsewhere in Great Britain (GB). This is because Wales generally has more generation capacity than it requires whilst England generally has less. Generally the amount of electricity exported from Wales (Chart 3) follows the same trend as the amount of electricity generated in Wales (Chart 1), with both the amount of electricity exported and generated falling since peaking in 2008. Between 2010 and 2011 exported electricity fell by 54 per cent to a record low of 3,700 GWh. During 2011, the amount of electricity exported from Wales was equivalent to 13 per cent of total electricity generated in Wales. Previously exports have accounted for between 18 and 30 per cent of all electricity generated in a given year. 4 Obviously the reduction in the amount of electricity generated in Wales will affect the amount of electricity exported from Wales. Furthermore the amount of electricity consumed within Wales will also have an impact, and whilst electricity consumption has also fallen over the last year, it has fallen at a slower rate than generation. Chart 3 – Electricity exported from Wales 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 GWh 6,000