Electricity sector in the United Kingdom
 Current grid status Similar data
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Map of UK power stations, 2006 Archive
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Archive of UK Grid map 2012 Source
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UK Grid map 2016 Archive
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The electricity sector in the United Kingdom relies mainly on fossil fuelled power and 15-20% in nuclear power and similar amounts of renewable power. Fossil fuel generator use in general and coal use in particularly is shrinking, with coal generators now only mainly being run in Winter due to pollution and costs.
In 2008 nuclear electricity production was 860 kWh pro person. In 2014, 28.1 TW·h of energy was generated by wind power, which contributed 9.3% of the UK's electricity requirement. In 2015, 40.4 TW·h of energy was generated by wind power, and the quarterly generation record was set in the three-month period from October to December 2015, with 13% of the nation’s electricity demand met by wind. 2015 saw 1.2 GW of new wind power capacity brought online, a 9.6% increase of the total UK installed capacity.
The United Kingdom voluntarily ended the use of incandescent lightbulbs in 2011. Between 2007 and 2012, the UK's peak electrical demand has fallen from 61.5 GW to 57.5 GW The use of electricity declined 11% in 2009 compared to 2004 and respectively.
The UK is planning to reform its Electricity Market. It plans to introduce a capacity mechanism and contracts for difference to encourage the building of new generation.
The European Commission banned low efficiency general-purpose, non-directional incandescent lightbulbs from 2012, though similarly shaped higher-efficiency halogen bulbs continue to be available (although halogen cannot be considered high-efficiency when compared to Compact fluorescent lamp and LED bulbs). The United Kingdom banned them voluntarily from 2011 after Ireland in 2009.
The gross production of electricity was 393 TWh in 2004 which gave the 9th position in the world top producers in 2004.
The mode of production has changed over the years. During the 1960s and 70s, coal plants were built to supply consumption despite economic challenges. During the 1970s and 80s some nuclear sites were built. From the 1990s gas power plants benefited from the Dash for Gas supplied by North Sea gas. After the 2000s, renewables like solar and wind added significant capacity. In Q3 2016, nuclear and renewables each supplied a quarter of British electricity, with coal supplying 3.6%.
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