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LONDON, England, August 9, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
Renewable sources of energy (excluding passive
solar) provided 1.9% of Britain’s total primary energy last year,
0.2 of a percentage point higher than in 2004 which, in turn, was
0.3 of a percentage point higher than in 2003.
Total electricity from green power in 2005 was 16,919 GWh, an
increase of 2,748 GWh (19.4%) over 2004, according to the ‘Digest of
UK Energy Statistics 2006.’ The Digest contains tables, charts and
commentary covering all major aspects of energy, including sections
on oil, gas, coal and electricity use over the last five years.
The main contributors to this “substantial increase” in green power
were 1,511 GWh from co-firing of biomass with fossil fuels (an
increase of 148%), 769 GWh from onshore wind (44%), 287 GWh from
landfill gas (7%), 204 GWh from offshore wind (102%), and 185 GWh
(66% increase) from small scale hydro facilities. There was a small
decrease (3%) in large-scale hydro generation attributed to dry
weather.
Only 27% of green power came from large hydro sites last year,
compared with 33% in 2004. Hydro (large and small together) remains
the highest renewables technology in output, followed by landfill
gas, wind (both onshore and offshore) and the co-firing of biomass.
All renewables provided 4.2% of electricity generated in the UK last
year, 0.6 percentage points higher than 2004. There was a 21%
increase (772 MWe) in the installed generating capacity of
renewables in 2005, mainly as a result of a 67% increase (542 MW) in
onshore wind and a 75% increase (90 MW) in offshore wind capacity.
There was also a 13% increase (96 MW) in the capacity from landfill
gas and a 7% increase (9 MW) in sewage gas capacity.
The capacity to generate from solar PV showed a 33% increase and has
quadrupled in four years. Large-scale hydro capacity was 6% lower
than in 2001, as some stations have been adapted to fall within the
capacity limits specified by the renewables obligation.
All renewables (except large hydro) has continued to increase in
electricity capacity and “this upward trend in the capacity of
renewable sources will continue as recently consented onshore and
offshore windfarms and other projects come on stream,” the report
notes.
For all generators, total capacity last year was 81,738 MW, of which
conventional steam was 34,224, combined cycle gas turbine was
28,061, nuclear was 11,852, gas was 1,346, hydro was 1,393, pumped
storage hydro was 2,788 and renewables (non-hydro) was 2,074 MW.
The report uses the international definition of renewables, which
excludes non-biodegradable wastes, and includes active solar
heating; photovoltaics; onshore
and offshore wind; wave; hydro; biofuels and geothermal aquifers.
The largest contribution to renewables in input terms (83%) is from
biofuels, with large hydro contributing the majority of the
remainder. Only 7.5% of renewable energy comes from renewables other
than biofuels and large hydro “but this proportion is growing,” it
notes. Last year, 87% of the renewable energy was transformed into
electricity, an increase from 82% in 2004 and 80% in 2003.
Between 2004 and 2005, the increase of green power was 21.5% with
biofuels at 23% and wind at 52%, while hydro grew by only 0.5%.
Compared with 2000, total inputs to electricity generation have
doubled “aided by 123% growth in the use of biofuels and a tripling
of the use of wind.”
Between 1990 and 1996, renewables used to generate electricity grew
at an average annual rate of 6.5% but, after 1996, “the rate of
increase quickened and over the seven years to 2003, it averaged
14.5% a year.” The use of renewables to generate heat reached a peak
in 1996, having more than doubled over the previous six years and,
since 1996, the use of renewables for heating has declined by nearly
half, mainly because of use of industrial wood has declined by 85%
due to the introduction of more stringent emission controls.
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