The UK energy mix

• Energy resources in the UK

  • Abundant reserves of coal
  • Nuclear power
  • Oil and gas in the North Sea
  • Renewable power (wind, solar, biofuels)
• Changes in energy use in the UK

  1. Coal use fell sharply

  2. Nuclear power came online

  3. UK became major producer of oil and gas

  4. Shift towards renewable power
• Burning gas for electricity

  • Generates less carbon dioxide than burning coal
  • Gas-fired power stations are flexible and can be switched on quickly
• Coal-fired power stations


  • Have a very long start-up time
• Carbon dioxide emissions from human activity


  Could be leading to climate change
• Energy from fossil fuels was very cheap, making it difficult to switch away
• UK has one of the best locations for wind power in the world
• Wind now accounts for around 11% of the UK's electricity and set to rise further
• Renewables have reliability issues due to variable wind speeds
• Addressing reliability issues of renewables


  1. Need a base load of constant electricity supply (nuclear power)

  2. Use gas-fired power stations for emergency power during peak demand
• UK government has given go-ahead for new nuclear power plants