Outline the Level of Engery Security in the Uk
Assess the level of energy security in the UK
Energy security is defined as the extent to which an affordable, reliable and stable energy supply can be achieved. Over the last few decades, the energy situation in the UK has constantly been changing, from producing enough oil and natural gas to be a net exporter of both fuels to now being on the brink of not importing and producing enough energy to meet the nations’ demands. The past decades of the UK’s energy were probably brighter days than what we can look forward to in the future, with one researcher from Cambridge University, Professor David MacKay, suggesting the UK could face severe blackouts by 2016 (UK ‘could face blackouts by 2016’ – BBC News Sept 2009). Although the general use of energy in the UK has not increased huge amounts, with per capita usage in 1965 at 3.6 tonnes oil equivalent per year and in 2005 at 3.8 tonnes oil equivalent, the energy security of the UK has worsened considerably. As global population increases and more countries are using larger amounts of fossil fuels to meet their energy demands, the UK is limited to the amount it can import and is put under pressure to use more renewable sources of energy. Problems within geopolitics has also caused problems for the UK’s energy security as prices fluctuate, changing the amount of oil we can export and how much we have to pay for our imported energy.
Past
When BP records began, the UK was getting 98% of its primary energy from burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal mainly due to the increasing transportation and power generation sectors. Pre-1976, the UK was a large importer of oil due to the fact there were very few known oil sources that could be used domestically. In the following years North Sea oil was discovered and production got underway, meaning the UK could gradually reduce their imports and rely more on domestic oil. Within a few years, in 1981 the UK had become a net exporter of oil showing that at this
Energy security is defined as the extent to which an affordable, reliable and stable energy supply can be achieved. Over the last few decades, the energy situation in the UK has constantly been changing, from producing enough oil and natural gas to be a net exporter of both fuels to now being on the brink of not importing and producing enough energy to meet the nations’ demands. The past decades of the UK’s energy were probably brighter days than what we can look forward to in the future, with one researcher from Cambridge University, Professor David MacKay, suggesting the UK could face severe blackouts by 2016 (UK ‘could face blackouts by 2016’ – BBC News Sept 2009). Although the general use of energy in the UK has not increased huge amounts, with per capita usage in 1965 at 3.6 tonnes oil equivalent per year and in 2005 at 3.8 tonnes oil equivalent, the energy security of the UK has worsened considerably. As global population increases and more countries are using larger amounts of fossil fuels to meet their energy demands, the UK is limited to the amount it can import and is put under pressure to use more renewable sources of energy. Problems within geopolitics has also caused problems for the UK’s energy security as prices fluctuate, changing the amount of oil we can export and how much we have to pay for our imported energy.
Past
When BP records began, the UK was getting 98% of its primary energy from burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal mainly due to the increasing transportation and power generation sectors. Pre-1976, the UK was a large importer of oil due to the fact there were very few known oil sources that could be used domestically. In the following years North Sea oil was discovered and production got underway, meaning the UK could gradually reduce their imports and rely more on domestic oil. Within a few years, in 1981 the UK had become a net exporter of oil showing that at this