The Energy Dilemma of the UK - Coursework Example

The Energy Dilemma of the UK Introduction The use of fossil fuels has increased manifold across all parts of the world in last one hundred year or so. Being a developed country, the energy consumption in the UK is at its peak and still rising at a steady pace as economic development further progresses. Bradshaw (2010) argues that the current energy system is in the genesis of climate change and until the world has clean, secure and affordable source of energy system, it will continue to face the energy dilemma and the UKs position is in no way different. The first and foremost dilemma that the UK faces is in terms of energy security. Will the UK be in a position to meet its energy needs from domestic sources in the years to come? Will the UK be able to sustain its energy production programme successfully for a long period of time? Moreover, the energy security needs to be redefined in terms of climate protection policies and that is where the UK as a nation is on the threshold of a second dilemma. Transportation sector being one of the largest contributors to the green house gases and the UK’s commitment to meet EU guidelines poses a veritable energy dilemma for the country. The paper attempts to examine the proposition that the UK faces an energy dilemma in above perspectives. Energy Sector in the UK The energy sector has a great influence on the UK economy. The energy industries’ contribution in the national economy stands at 4.4 percent of GDP in 2011. Its importance can be gauged from the facts that investment in the energy sector constituted a huge 51.8 percent of total industrial investment made in the UK in 2010; in terms of percentage of total investments, this comes out to be 10.1 percent in 2010. Furthermore, almost 7 percent of industrial work force is involved in only energy sector of the UK (Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2012 p.12). At this juncture, it will be most prudent to delve into the trends of energy production data in the UK between 1980 and 2011. The following table presents the production of primary fuels in million tonnes of oil equivalent. Fuel 1980 1990 2000 2009 2010 2011 Petroleum 86.9 100.1 138.3 74.7 69.0 56.9 Coal 78.5 56.4 19.6 11.0 11.5 11.6 Natural Gas 34.8 45.5 108.4 59.7 57.2 45.3 Electricity 10.2 16.7 20.2 16.5 15.1 17.5 Bioenergy 0.0 0.7 2.3 4.9 5.1 5.8 Total 210.5 219.4 288.7 166.9 157.9 137.0 Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65898/5942-uk-energy-in-brief-2012.pdf (p. 7) Decreasing Energy Productions in the UK – First and Foremost Dilemma The above table clearly demonstrates that the UK is facing its biggest dilemma on production front. Total production of primary fuels went down by 13% in 2011 when compared with the numbers of 2010. The most unfortunate part is that after peaking in 2000, the production has gone down considerably. The sharp falls in oil and gas production are due to a number of maintenance issues as well as due to the facts that a number of oil and gas fields have now exhausted. When compared with the peak production levels of 2000, the primary fuel production has now reached to less than 50 percent of that (UK Energy in Brief 2012). It is obvious that the UK now meets its energy needs by imports. It is important to note here that following the development of oil and gas field in the North Sea in 1980, the UK became a net exporter of energy in the subsequent year. North Sea productions during the time raised a biggest hope to the nation moving toward energy security in the times to come. North Sea production touched its peak in 1999 and within 5 years of that, the UK became an energy importer. In 2011, the UK imported almost 36 percent of its energy requirement that is huge by any standards (UK Energy in Brief 2012). The moot question is whether high levels of energy import is an indication that the UK is on threshold of facing biggest energy crisis in the years to come. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65898/5942-uk-energy-in-brief-2012.pdf Without discussing coal availability and its role in energy generation in the UK, the fossil fuel-based energy generation would not be complete. Howard et al. (2009) argues that high quality coal is abundantly available in South Wales in the UK; however, the country imports more than 50 percent of the coal because imported stuff is cheaper than mining the coal within the country. Coal still remains a major fuel for power generation in the UK. The draw back with the coal is that it releases huge amounts of green house gases such as methane, sulphur along with particulate matters in the atmosphere. The emissions are not only harmful to human health but result into acid rain damaging crops in and around northern Europe. The coal based energy has a lot of environment issues and its use cannot be increased unless those issues are properly addressed. Existing coal-fired power plants are nearing its age and with the new EU directive of 2015 they are not likely to be revived. Leonov (2012) argues that the UK is facing a long-term energy dilemma as the country imported more natural gas in 2011 than it produced – first time ever since 1967. That means the country is getting more and more dependent on imported liquefied natural gas that has economical, political and transportation concerns. Moreover, the countrys population would rise to almost 71 million by 2030 causing substantial increase in the electricity demand. In the above perspective, it will be most appropriate to look into the current energy consumption scenario in the UK and how different sectors of the economy are contributing on the energy demands in the country. Consumption Pattern of Energy in the UK The consumption pattern of the different sectors in 2011 in the UK can be seen in the following table. (Million tonnes of oil equivalent) Coal Gas Oil Electricity Bioenergy Total Industry 1.7 10.7 4.5 8.8 1.4 27.1 Domestic 0.8 25.2 2.7 9.6 0.6 38.8 Transport 0.0 - 53.7 0.4 1.1 55.2 Services 0.0 6.5 1.4 8.6 0.7 17.2 Total 2.5 42.4 62.3 27.3 3.8 138.3 Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65898/5942-uk-energy-in-brief-2012.pdf It is pertinent to note here that energy consumption in the UK went down by 8 percent in 2011 compared to 2010 with the largest fall in domestic sector due to milder weather conditions. Our economy is largely dependent upon the inexpensive source of hydrocarbons (Mitchell 2009); however, even this inexpensive source of fossil fuels is not limitless. The point is that whatever has been explored so far globally or in the UK cannot be recovered that is where the term ‘proven reserves’ come into play. The proven reserves are those reserves that can be harnessed with reasonable certainty in the future from known available reserves under current technological and economic conditions (BP 2009). Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65898/5942-uk-energy-in-brief-2012.pdf Reducing Emission Levels in the UK– A Big Challenge Energy security is not the only dilemma that the UK faces currently but as per Europeans climate law, the UK needs to close down 30 percent of its oil-fired and coal based power plants by 2015 to reduce the emission levels. Energy occupies significantly an important place in the modern economy. As economy of the country moves ahead, it needs to harness cleaner forms of energy for sustainability and pollution free development. It is a fact that relatively inexpensive hydrocarbons have been a major driving force behind the growth of economy of developed countries including the UK (Mitchell 2009). Fouquet (2010) argues that fossil fuels have put tremendous pressures on environment. That has forced the governments in search of energy sources that are less polluting. The UK government has targeted to reduce emissions by 80 percent from base level emissions of 1990 by 2050; however, it is extremely necessary to have favorable energy prices for easy adoption by industries, transport and domestic sectors. The author further argues that most consumers, without legislation, will not be willing to pay extra for environmental improvements because benefits are not private but rather social. The crux of the matter is that only a small fraction of population will be ready to pay a premium for low-carbon energy sources and it is here that the government intervention becomes necessary. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65881/5949-dukes-2012-exc-cover.pdf Transport Sector – A Largest Contributor to Emissions in the UK Ward (2008) argues that global warming is an accepted fact and governments world over are trying hard to address the issues related to carbon emissions. So is the case with the UK government that it has started addressing the environmental issues from all sectors of economies. Though many sectors have been reducing their energy consumption yet two sectors namely home and transport seem to defy the general trends where energy use has increased by 11.8% and 22.9% respectively. It is important to note that domestic transport emissions constitute almost one-fourth of the total UK emissions. It is targeted that average emissions of new vehicles will get reduced by one-third due to use of more efficient combustion technologies. Bio-fuels will also achieve substantial reductions in emissions. It is also anticipated that more vehicles will run on electric batteries and hydrogen fuel cells bringing down the reduction in emissions. This simply means that the transport sector which is the biggest contributor to emissions will largely depend upon the technological upheavals from the manufacturers. If the anticipated technological improvements do not come by 2020 at affordable costs then it is very likely that the UK may face most fearsome energy dilemma in the transport sector in the years to come. Emission Reduction Programme –Dilemma of Technological Choices In 2011, the Coalition government of the UK made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent based on 1990 levels by 2025. The commitment has now taken the form of legislation called the Climate Change Act 2008. It has taken 1990 as a base year for all calculations and future reductions. The Carbon Plan (2011) of the Department of Energy & Climate Change indicates that nuclear will be the largest source of electricity in 2050. The plan also indicates that most of the energy requirement for home heating, and transport will be met through electricity and for the production of electricity the government is focusing on mainly three technologies such as renewable, nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS). If the government decides to push through the nuclear energy alternative as policy document reveals then the biggest factor is that will it be safe enough in the long run after seeing the catastrophic situation at Fukushima nuclear reactor site immediately after earthquake in March 2011 in Japan? Renewable energies such as solar, wind or hydro cannot replace fossil fuels completely in near future due to affordability reasons. Similarly, CCS is under experimental stage and technical experts are not yet sure whether it can really become a prominent technology of the future (The Guardian, 2012). Bridge et al. (2013) argue that energy transition is a geographical process and in all likely hoods that will alter current patterns of economic and social activities. According to him, implications of new low-carbon energy paradigm are obscure and quite a different geographical futures can emerge such as large-scale solar, offshore wind or nuclear in remote areas and accessing electricity through long-distance transmission. Current Low-carbon Capacity Assessment & Future Projections Low-carbon and Fossil fuel contributions (in percentage) 2009 2010 2011 Fossil Fuel 89.1 89.8 87.5 Low-Carbon 10.5 9.8 12.0 Other 0.4 0.3 0.6 Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65881/5949-dukes-2012-exc-cover.pdf John Holdren, advisor to the President Obama, said, “Without energy there is no economy. Without climate there is no environment. Without economy and environment there is no material wealth, no civil society, no personal or national security. And the problem is that we have been getting the energy our economy needs in ways that are wrecking the climate that our environment needs” (Holdren, 2009). Holdren’s observations are not only applicable to the US but they are equally applicable to the UK too. It becomes obvious that low-carbon energy is not only a necessity but essential for our sustainability and survival; otherwise, climate change can cause huge devastating effects in years to come. Helm (2008) rightly argues to explore a new energy paradigm that aims at acquiring energy security, affordability and addressing climate change issues that are able to deliver socially-desired outcomes. The dilemmas of the UK can be described in the form of securing the supply of clean, affordable and reliable energy that meets the needs of industries, transportation and domestic sectors without causing any impact on environment and climate conditions. Reflection The UK is in dire state of affairs that are full of uncertainties so far energy issues are concerned. A plethora of old nuclear and coal power stations are on verge of closing over next few years and those need to be replaced with low-carbon energy producing stations as the nation has already made commitment to lowering greenhouse-gas emissions. If seen objectively, the current scenario on energy front is full of complexities. The government is banking heavily on energy efficiency policies such as insulating all homes to reduce not only home owners heating bill but also reduce the overall energy consumption in the domestic sector. It is an uphill task when seen in the perspective of vastness of the task involved. On transportation sector, the policy formulators anticipate that fuel efficient and electricity charged vehicles will help reduce oil consumption drastically in the coming years and thus emissions; however, the affordability factor is still a big question mark. In this process, electricity consumption will increase manifold and it is assumed that increased electricity demand will be met with either renewable energies, through CCS or nuclear based power stations. Current levels of technological advancement and with going estimates, renewable energies such as solar, wind or hydro cannot provide energy security or make it affordable in the near future (at least by 2020). The carbon capture and storage (CCS) is in its nascent stage and under trial. By any means, it will take couple of years before it gets fully stabilized. Currently, the UK has only 20GW of low carbon power capacity. This implies that the UK needs to build, on average, about 2.5 GW of new low-carbon capacity each year right up to 2050 (The Carbon Paper 2011). If the past record is any indication then the country has built nuclear power stations at a rate of up to 4.5GW a year. With the focus on three technologies such as renewable, nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS), it can be said that in the given circumstances only nuclear can provide such huge low-carbon capacities with certainty in the years to come at affordable costs; however, as already discussed nuclear could pose much bigger risk to the nation during unforeseen circumstances such as natural calamities, war or terrorists threats. Conclusion In the above perspective, it can be said that the UK is passing through a great energy dilemma ever witnessed in the history. On one side, the nation is struggling to reduce emissions by exploring and experimenting with new technologies such as CCS and innovation in renewable; on the other side, it has to continue maintaining energy security so that its economic development is not jeopardized. Amidst great uncertainties, the country has to move on tight rope striking a delicate balance between these two and only time will tell whether the UK comes out of this dilemma successfully or not. References Bradshaw, M. J. (2010). Global energy dilemmas: a geographical perspective. The Geographical Journal. Vol. 176, p.275-290 Bridge, G.; Bouzarovski, S.; Bradshaw, M.; Eyre, N (2013). Geographies of Energy Transition: Space, Place and the low-carbon economy. Energy Policy. 331-340. Elsevier Ltd. BP (British Petroleum) 2009. BP statistical review of world energy. British Petroleum, London. The Carbon Plan: Delivering our low carbon future (2011). The Department of Energy & Climate Change. decc.gov.uk. [Online] Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/47613/3702-the-carbon-plan-delivering-our-low-carbon-future.pdf [Accessed 5 March 2013] “Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2012”. Department of Energy & Climate Change. 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