Most of the energy used in the United Kingdom is derived from fossil fuels. The country consumed 142.0million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2019. UK averaged 2.78 tonnes of oil-equivalent per capita, which is 1.92 tonnes worldwide. This was a substantial increase on the previous year. This trend will continue.
Community energy
It is challenging to implement the political and legal framework in place for community energy in the United Kingdom. First of all, community-energy is not a government-run, market-based organization. Because of this, community energy cannot act as a rule-maker within the British policy regime. Therefore, it is hard to institutionalize community energy and to challenge bad decisions.
Community energy projects usually involve a distributed system that is connected with the local distribution line. Local DNOs are also available to help communities pilot new technologies that could reduce their carbon footprint or energy use. These initiatives include the collective switching and installation of solar panels, wind turbines, and gas and electricity suppliers.
Community energy project are a great way for people to save money on energy and also fund other activities. Small-scale community power projects almost always involve local contractors. A recent study shows that of the 38 community energy organisations that have completed projects, sixteen1 of them used local contractors. This means that money raised through community projects has been used to invest in local businesses.
Pumped-storage power
The UK's electricity system has many benefits from pumped-storage power. It relieves transmission bottlenecks and helps to restore power supplies during blackouts. Pumped storage systems also reduce the cost of balancing a national grid. This benefits consumers. SSE Renewables has therefore welcomed the Scottish government's approval to a revised Coire Glas Pumped-storage Project.
In Lochaber Scotland, this is the first project of its scale in the UK. The company has plans to build a 1.5GW pumped-storage hydroelectric facility there. But, the developer has not yet found a financial incentive that will make this project viable. The developer expects to start construction in 2024.
The United Kingdom's potential for powered-storage power is immense. These types of storage are possible in closed loop sites and abandoned coal mines. Globally there are more than 600,000. These locations are affordable over the long-term. Pumped storage is the cheapest way to store energy for up, a week according to the UK Committee on Climate Change.
Wind farms
Wind power is one of the largest energy sources in the United Kingdom. The UK government has committed that renewable energy will be a greater part of the power mix in 2020. There are currently about 22 gigawatts of installed wind capacity onshore and an additional 10 gigawatts on offshore sites. The government's efforts to reduce carbon emissions are the main reason for this increase in wind power.
There are three major offshore developers in the UK. DONG Energy UK (SSE Renewables), and RWE Npower Renewables all work on projects that will build wind farms off British shores. In June 2008, the Crown Estate, the UK government's crown estate, began the third round of site allocations. It was launched just a few weeks after the second round. This round was much bigger than its predecessors. The sites identified could produce as high as 25 gigawatts.
Because onshore wind has lower development cost than offshore wind, the government eliminated subsidies for it in 2015. However, the government has tightened planning regulations, responding to complaints from local communities. In order to identify wind farms in your neighborhood plans, they must also be included and updated every five year. Construction time has been slowed down by the long planning process.