Industry NewsThe UK imported 31 per cent more gas year-on-year during the first quarter of 2010, meaning that it eclipsed indigenous production for the first time since 1968. The latest official data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) underlines that the UK is increasingly coming to rely on imports for its basic gas needs.
The historic change in relation between production and imports was precipitated by higher demand and the general decline in production from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The decline has been expected for a number of years, and has been addressed through a number of methods, such as enhanced liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities. Indeed, imports of LNG accounted for around 25 per cent of total gas brought into the UK during this period. Critics of the previous Government's policy indicated that investments in storage may have been more efficient, but on balance enhanced imports or greater storage capacity are on a par, both having their benefits and drawbacks.
Lower temperatures year-on-year escalated demand 13.2 per cent. Of this, 18.4 per cent was for electricity generation. Additional data showed a decline in coal consumption around this time period, underlining the modification in the fuel mix which has occurred since the introduction of the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD). This has altered the degree by which coal is used in the UK generation mix. The demand date also indicates that industrial demand was up 6.7 per cent in this timeframe, with domestic demand escalating by 12.9 per cent.
The new DECC data was not focused on gas, and included a special section on renewable. The use of sustainable energy resources as a means to improve system security was a major policy of the previous Labour government and is also part of the plans for the new coalition. A push towards more renewable generation would reduce the UK's reliance on gas imports, and the latest DECC data indicates that in 2009, total generation from renewable energy resources jumped 17 per cent compared to the previous year. Year on-year, installed capacity escalated a similar percentage, moving from 6.8 GW in 2008 to 8 GW in 2009.
Moreover, the data stated that the UK met three per cent of its total energy needs - including transport and heating - from renewable energy resources. European legislation requires that the country achieves a 15 per cent share by 2020. As such, the UK has a long way to go in a very short time.