Energy Trends – latest report

There are some very encouraging statistics outlined in the latest Energy Trends report from BEIS

Total energy production was 0.1 per cent lower than in the first quarter of 2016.
  Oil production fell by 4.6 per cent when compared with the first quarter of 2016, driven largely
by a decrease in production at fields feeding into the Sullom Voe terminal.

  Natural gas production was 4.7 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2016, following the
start-up of the Cygnus gas field in December 2016.

  Coal production in the first quarter of 2017 was 11.7 per cent lower than the first quarter of
2016, due to falling demand. Coal imports were 9.1 per cent lower as generators’ demand for
coal fell by 32 per cent.

  Total primary energy consumption for energy fell by 2.8 per cent. However, when adjusted to
take account of weather differences between the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of
2017, total primary energy consumption fell by 0.7 per cent.

 Temperatures in the quarter were on average 0.7 degrees warmer than a year earlier, with
average temperatures in both February and March being warmer than a year earlier.

 Final energy consumption (excluding non-energy use) was 2.2 per cent lower than in the first
quarter of 2016. Domestic consumption fell by 5.1 per cent due to warmer weather. On a
seasonally and temperature adjusted basis final energy consumption fell by 0.1. per cent,
within which domestic consumption fell 0.5 per cent.
 Gas demand was 0.7 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2016, whilst electricity
consumption was 2.3 per cent lower, both driven by the warmer weather in the first quarter of
2017.

 Electricity generated in the first quarter of 2017 increased 1.0 per cent compared to 2016 Q1,
by 0.9 TWh to 93.2 TWh, however net imports fell 3.1 TWh over the same period, leading to a
2.2 per cent fall in electricity supplied.

 Coal’s share of generation decreased from 15.9 per cent to 11.3 per cent, whilst gas’s share
rose from 37.0 per cent to 39.9 per cent. Nuclear’s share of generation increased slightly from
18.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 to 18.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2017.

 Low carbon electricity’s share of generation increased from 44.4 per cent in the first quarter of
2016 to 45.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2017.

 Renewables’ share of electricity generation increased to 26.6 per cent, compared to the 25.6
per cent share in the first quarter of 2016, mostly due to increased wind and solar capacity.

 Renewable electricity generation was a record 24.8 TWh in the first quarter of 2017, an
increase of 5.1 per cent on the same period a year earlier