Natural gas

• Natural gas is currently the main source of power for electricity production in the UK
• Natural gas is used for heating and cooking as well as for industrial uses. It can be burnt directly and does not require crushing like coal
• Natural gas is easy to transport through pipelines. Mainly consisting of methane, gas is found deep underground with coal and oil deposits. It has to be processed before it can be used to remove water and other impurities
• As gas-fired power stations can be brought into service quickly, they will remain important as a replacement for less reliable sources, such as wind power on days where there is insufficient wind available for the wind turbines
• Gas from the seas around Britain accounts for some of the gas we use, but the majority comes from pipelines connected to Europe and in liquefied form (LNG) shipped from around the world in tankers
• There are deposits of shale gas under Britain, but there is considerable discussion about using these, as there might be pollution of water supplies and a risk of small earthquakes called seismic tremors