Quantcast
Channel: Ecology Building Society » feed-in tariff
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

UK energy mix – it’s time for a new generation

0
0

Our partners Good Energy are campaigning for new, cleaner sources of power in Britain, to create a more secure energy future for us all. Here they explain the facts behind their campaign.

We’re now more heavily reliant on fuel imports than ever before. The UK imports over 60% of the fuel it needs to generate electricity – often from volatile places in the world. We buy coal from Russia, gas from Qatar and uranium from Namibia – but in total 40 other countries currently supply us with the power we need.

Back in 2011 when we looked at where the UK’s electricity comes from, we found that 43% of the fuel came from the UKs own resources. Analysis of 2012 data shows that figure has further reduced, meaning that now only 35% of the fuel we use to generate electricity comes from the UK itself.

The headlines from the latest data are:

The UK imported 61.2% of the fuel it used to generate electricity in 2012, up by 12% from 2011.

Just three countries; Russia, Colombia and Norway, supply over a quarter of the fuel we use to generate electricity in the UK.

Over 50% of fuel for UK electricity is supplied from outside of Europe.

Infographic showing overseas supply of UK energyFossil fuels can be very expensive, the price is hard to predict. And because we buy so much fuel from outside of the UK, the price and security of supply is impossible to control. This isn’t good news for our economy, and it isn’t good news for our energy bills either. That’s before we even consider the cost to the environment.

But British people want to change. A UK Energy Research Council study in July 2013 revealed people want to see a reduction in fossil fuel usage. 74% of participants were very or fairly concerned about climate change, while 82% were worried about the UK becoming too dependent upon energy from other countries. The great news is, that unlike other UK produced energy sources, renewable capacity is rising.

UK renewables have shown tremendous growth, with generation up 28% in 2013.

The appetite is out there. Renewable energy is being generated right now, all over the country, by thousands of independent generators. Large organisations, communities, farms, schools, businesses and households: they’re all powering themselves and others. It’s clear that when people can see the relevance of renewable energy – cheaper bills, less reliance on foreign imports, improved environment – they welcome it with open arms. And the data proves it.

Good Energy has seen over a 28% growth in its network of home and commercial generators in the past 12 months.

Growth of small UK generators under the Feed-in Tariff now numbers 430,000 installations, with a total capacity of 2GW.

The more we use wind farms, hydro-generators and solar panels to generate our electricity, the cleaner and greener Britain’s energy becomes. This isn’t some future dream – it’s a reality now.

Renewables made up almost 15% of the electricity the UK generated in 2013 – enough to power 12.5 million homes.

Electricity is the same however it’s generated, but it’s better for us and better for the planet if we get more of our energy from renewable sources. It’s time for a new generation of electricity to make up our energy mix. We know the UK can be powered entirely by renewables. With your help, we’ll get there.

If you’d like to know how we worked out our figures, visit goodenergy.co.uk/energy-security-data.

This post originally appeared on Good Energy’s website

Ecology receives £25 for every individual member who switches to Good Energy, up to £60 for every small business customer who switches and up to £120 for every large business customer who switches.

Find out more online at www.goodenergy.co.uk/ebs or over the phone on 0800 254 0000.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images