《轉貼文章》Cleaner power cuts UK carbon emissions 7%

分享:   By BusinessGreen Staff Published March 30, 2012// U.K. greenhouse gas emissions dropped 7 percent last year as warmer temperatures slashed demand for gas and nuclear and renewable energy increased, government data revealed this week. The country emitted a total of 549 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent of the six greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol, down from 590MTCO2e in 2010. Carbon dioxide, which makes up around 84 percent of U.K. emissions, fell eight percent year on year to 456MT. This decline was accompanied by a rise in renewable energy production to make up a record 9.5 percent of the U.K.'s total energy mix, compared to 7.5 percent the previous year, while nuclear increased by three percentage points to make up 19 percent. Energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey said the results showed "more evidence of how the U.K. is leading the way in the fight against climate change". "Carbon emissions are down, homes are more energy efficient and low carbon power is up," he added. "Thanks to the Green Deal and the government's reforms to the electricity market I hope to see this trend continue and gather pace." The data shows carbon emissions plunged 22 percent in the residential sector, just over 6 percent in the energy supply sector, and eight percent from businesses, as gas demand dropped 17 percent from 2010 to its lowest level since 1995. Meanwhile, renewable sources accounted for 34.8 terrawatt hours of electricity in 2011 – an increase of 35 percent on the previous year – and around half the total of nuclear, while renewable electricity capacity increased by 2.9GW to 12.2 GW at the end of 2011, a 32 percent increase on a year earlier. Wind energy production rose by 54.5 percent – and offshore wind by 68 percent – due to higher wind speeds and increased capacity, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said. Hydro generation increased by 58 percent on 2010 as a result of higher rainfall and overall, hydro and wind generation was 55.5 percent higher in 2011. In Scotland, renewable electricity generated in 2011 rose 45 percent on 2010 to 13,750 gigawatt hours. Assuming gross consumption in 2011 is similar to 2010, this means the country met around 35 percent of its electricity needs from green electricity, beating the Scottish government's target of 31 percent. "Scotland [also] met almost 40 percent of the U.K.'s renewables output in 2011, demonstrating just how much the rest of the U.K. needs our energy," said energy minister Fergus Ewing. "We are seeing great progress towards our goal of generating the equivalent of 100 percent of Scotland's electricity needs from renewables by 2020." However, falling gas and oil production across the U.K. resulted in a net energy import dependency of 36.5 percent, the highest level in the U.K. since 1976. Another landmark was achieved as gross imports of natural gas were greater than gross production for the first time since 1967, although because the U.K. also exports gas, gross production remained higher than net imports. // 轉貼來源: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/03/30/cleaner-greener-power-cuts-UK-carbon-emissions