Renewable energy generation in the UK rose by 50% in the second quarter of the year, with 15% of the country’s electricity generation coming from renewable sources, according to new figures today.
Wind generation and energy produced by biomass saw dramatic rises compared to 2012, as the UK’s energy consumption increased slightly year on year.
However, total energy production in the UK fell by nearly 10% compared to the second quarter of 2012, with oil, nuclear and coal output fell during the Spring months.
The new figures, from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, show oil production fell 13.4% compared to the same period last year – a higher than average drop sparked by outage on the Buzzard field and a planned shutdown of the Norpipe terminal.
Net imports of oil rose by 5.5million for the quarter, with demand up slightly by 1.5%, while gas production fell 2.8% – lower than previous years – due to a partial reopening of the Elgin field.
However, gas imports rose by 8.7% year on year – despite an 8% drop in LNG imports.
Renewable energy use saw most significant growth, however, as bioenergy generation increased by 58.3% with the Tilbury plant restored to operation and output from the Drax and Ironbirdge facilities.
High wind speeds and increased capacity saw wind power produced during the quarter rise from 2.2 terrawatt hours to 3.8Twh, with overall renewable electricty capacity rising to 19.5GW.
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