A New Climate: How is the UK powered?
Thursday 27 June 2019 17:32, UK
Britain is on the path to climate change-friendly electricity.
Its annual generation of electricity from coal has decreased from 30% a decade ago to 3% so far in 2019 and energy generated by wind has increased over 10 years from 1% to 19%.
In May, the UK went seven days without burning any coal to generate electricity.
It was the longest stretch without the fossil fuel since the Industrial Revolution.
Where does the UK get its electricity from?
Gas: 39.4% (2018 figures)
Renewables (wind, wave, solar, hydro): 33.3%
Nuclear: 19.5%
Coal: 5%
Oil and others: 2.8%
:: Some electricity is imported (UK network is connected to systems in France, Netherlands and Ireland through cables)
Where does the UK get its gas from?
North and Irish Sea production
Pipelines from Europe, including Belgium, Netherlands and Norway
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipped in from around the world
Britain has three LNG import facilities - Dragon at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire; Isle of Grain, Kent; and South Hook, Pembrokeshire
Does coal still have a role in the UK's energy needs?
Not that much. UK coal generation was down 25% in 2018 compared with 12 months earlier. Last year, it accounted for just 5% of electricity.
In 2015, about 22% of the UK's electricity supply came from coal-fired power stations.
The following year, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced a consultation, to close the remaining coal-fired power stations by 2025.
Which coal power stations are still in operation?
Aberthaw B - Owned by RWE
Cottam - Owned by EDF (but it is set to close in September)
Drax - Owned by Drax (two-thirds biomass and one-third coal)
Fiddlers Ferry - Owned by SSE
Ratcliffe - Owned by Uniper
West Burton A - Owned by EDF
Control of the grid
The Electricity National Control Centre manages 730 GWh of electricity per day.
That is enough to:
:: Power 66 million homes for a day.
:: Be used for 50 million electric car commutes of 40 miles.
:: Run 250,000 electric cars for a year.
:: Run 44 billion phones for a day.
:: Boil seven million kettles.
:: Charge 120 million smartphones for a whole year.
What is the National Grid ESO?
At the heart of the country's energy system is the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO), which runs electricity networks safely and efficiently all-year round.
The nation's electricity is powered from a variety of sources including coal, gas and renewables and the ESO runs whatever is cheapest to ensure customers are getting the best deal.
The ESO has been made legally separate from National Grid and acts in consumers' best interests as well as driving value, fairness and efficiency.
Its ambition is for a zero-carbon energy system by 2025, with cleaner forms of energy such as wind are solar increasingly replacing traditional fossil fuels.
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The ESO forecasts the carbon intensity and generation mix of electricity consumed across 14 geographical regions in Britain.
As of Sunday afternoon, those living in the North East had the best carbon footprint, while those living in South Wales have the worst. See grid below.
What does the ESO control room do?
Sky News is spending time in an ESO control room at a non-disclosed location to reveal how it operates.
The control room manages the electricity system releasing supply to meet demand wherever it is required, using its network to move electricity from one part of the country to another.
The control room operates 24/7 and includes a diverse workforce including engineers and academics.
There are 118 control room job roles of variety, including forecasting demand and monitoring the frequency of electricity passing through the system to ensure it's safe.
Key ESO milestones
:: For the first time since the industrial revolution, the GB electricity system ran coal-free for 24 hours on 21 April 2017.
:: Periods of coal-free operation are becoming longer and more frequent; in June 2019 the network operated coal-free for two weeks.
:: More renewable wind and solar power is being generated than ever - the current record is 15GW of wind generation and over 10GW of solar.
:: Winter 2018/19 was the greenest on record for UK energy generation.
What do the control room screens show?
Here are pictures of some of the displays in the control room and what they do.
:: Frequency screen. The ESO has to balance energy in and out. This screen shows what it is doing to keep the system balanced at required levels.
:: Forecast. This screen displays what the ESO predicts the demand forecast will be based on the weather.
:: Lightning tracker. This screen is tracking lightning across Europe - it is important since it will have an impact on the UK.
:: Wind and rain tracker. The ESO tracks rainfall and wind speed across the UK.
To learn more, download the National Grid Electricity System Operator app, which uses live data to show the mix of sources of electricity used in the UK as a pie chart, how green certain parts of the country are and the greenest times of the day to use electricity.