UK Gas-Fired Generation Keeps Rising
In UK power generation, natural gas is continuing to make significant inroads at the expense of coal.
Gas accounted for a 45% share of UK power generation in 2Q 2016, compared to renewables 25%, nuclear 21% and coal 5.8%, according to figures released September 29 by the UK government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis). Compared with 2Q 2015, gas’s share was up 15.3 percentage points, while coal was down 14.4 points.
Graphic credit: UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis)
This meant that gas-fired generation increased by 51% to 11.9 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2Q 2016, while coal’s fell by 71% to a record-low of 4.6 TWh because of the definitive closure of Ferrybridge C and Longannet coal-fired plants. Overall UK power generation was relatively flat year-on-year.
Coal-fired plants have become less profitable with low gas wholesale prices and the rising carbon floor (the UK's top-up carbon tax) currently £18 per tonne of carbon dioxide (t/CO2) from 2016-17 out to 2019-20.
UK gas demand overall increased by 16.4% to 189.3 TWh (17.6bn m3) in 2Q 2016, according to the same data, of which 73.1 TWh was used by power generators (up 47%) and 50.2 TWh by households (up 2.4%).
Indigenous UK gas production fell by 4% to 116.1 TWh (10.8bn m3), while gross imports were up 20% to 111.6 TWh – with imports from Norway up 34% -- and exports were down 27% at 29 TWh largely because Irish self-sufficiency increased with the New Year start-up of Shell’s Corrib field.
Data published September 28 give a more complete picture than those published a month ago by Beis which showed that gas provided 50.9% of 2Q electricity generation by major power producers.
Mark Smedley