Digest of United Kingdom energy statistics 2010


Book Description

This issue of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) is part of a series and updates the figures given in the DUKES 2009. The publication consists of seven chapters; the first chapter deals with overall energy, with the other chapters covering specific fuels, combined heat and power and renewable sources of energy. The statistics presented in this digest will generate widespread interest from anyone working within or with an interest in energy sources, consumption and climate change. Chapters covering specific fuels and renewable sources of energy contain details on the production and consumption of individual fuels, presented using commodity balances. A commodity balance illustrates the flow of a fuel through from production to final consumption. These individual commodity balances are also combined in an energy balance, showing the interaction between different fuels. General energy statistics are presented in a table, revealing energy consumption by final users and an analysis of energy consumption by main industrial groups. Surveys conducted by AEA Energy & Environment on behalf of DECC estimate the contribution made by combined heat and power and renewable energy to energy production and consumption in the UK.







Energy, Society and Environment


Book Description

Society's use of energy and technology is at heart of many of the most significant environmental problems of recent years, including problems of health, global warming and acid rain. Use of technology has been a major cause of environmental problems but new technology offers many solutions. Energy, Society and Environment is an introduction to energy and energy use, and the interactions between technology, society and the environment. The book is clearly structured to examine: * key environmental issues, and the harmful impacts of energy use * new technological solutions to environmental problems * implementation of possible solutions * implications for society in developing a sustainable approach to energy use. Social processes and strategic solutions to problems are located within a clear, technological context with topical case studies and informative diagrams illustrating key issues. Energy, Society and Environment examines the potential and limits of technical solutions to environmental problems and suggests the social, economic and political changes necessary to avoid serious environmental damage in the future.




Coal, Gas and Electricity


Book Description

Coal, Gas and Electricity is a review of statistical data available for three fuel industries in the United Kingdom: coal, gas, and electricity. Topics covered include energy planning, comparability of fuels, published energy statistics, and energy consumption. This volume is comprised of five chapters and begins by explaining the purpose of energy statistics, such as to provide figures for the total production and consumption of energy and to identify the consumption of energy in sectors of the economy. A brief summary of industry activity concerned and its organization is given in order to present a clear background understanding of how data are collected; what is being measured; the stage at which measurements are made; what the reporting units are; the channels through which returns are routed; and where they are processed. The formulation of a national energy research and development strategy in the United Kingdom is then discussed, along with the comparability of fuels and government-published energy statistics. The last chapter presents statistics on energy consumption. This book will be of interest to energy officials, statisticians, economists, and social science researchers.




The Shale Dilemma


Book Description

The US shale boom and efforts by other countries to exploit their shale resources could reshape energy and environmental landscapes across the world. But how might those landscapes change? Will countries with significant physical reserves try to exploit them? Will they protect or harm local communities and the global climate? Will the benefits be shared or retained by powerful interests? And how will these decisions be made? The Shale Dilemma brings together experts working at the forefront of shale gas issues on four continents to explain how countries reach their decisions on shale development. Using a common analytical framework, the authors identify both local factors and transnational patterns in the decision-making process. Eight case studies reveal the trade-offs each country makes as it decides whether to pursue, delay, or block development. Those outcomes in turn reflect the nature of a country's political process and the power of interest groups on both sides of the issue. The contributors also ask whether the economic arguments made by the shale industry and its government supporters have overshadowed the concerns of local communities for information on the effects of shale operations, and for tax policies and regulations to ensure broad-based economic development and environmental protection. As an informative and even-handed account, The Shale Dilemma recommends practical steps to help countries reach better, more transparent, and more far-sighted decisions.




The Carbon Crunch


Book Description

In a new edition of his hard-hitting book on climate change, economist Dieter Helm looks at how and why we have failed to tackle the issue of global warming and argues for a new, pragmatic rethinking of energy policy. “An optimistically levelheaded book about actually dealing with global warming.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “[Dieter Helm] has turned his agile mind to one of the great problems of our age: why the world's efforts to curb the carbon dioxide emissions behind global warming have gone so wrong, and how it can do better.”—Pilita Clark,Financial Times




Low carbon technologies in a green economy


Book Description

Low carbon technologies will create jobs and lower carbon dioxide emissions but the Government must act faster if the UK is to reap the economic benefits it deserves. To date, there has been disappointingly slow progress with the move towards a green economy. Having reviewed low carbon technologies across the energy supply chain - from low carbon energy generation, through storage and transmission, to end user efficiency - the Committee concludes that whilst the development of many such technologies will require significant support from both the public and private sector, they have the potential to create jobs. In 2007/8, there were 881,000 so-called 'green jobs' in the UK's low carbon and environmental goods and services sector. This could potentially grow by 44 per cent to over 1.27 million jobs by 2015. Government has done well to develop a regulatory system for carbon capture and storage (CCS), but slow progress on demonstration projects has put the UK behind international competitors. Implementation of the Government's target to install smart meters in every home by 2020 needs to be fully integrated with the development of smart communication technologies, smart appliances and electric vehicles. The Government must tackle domestic energy efficiency more aggressively. And it should widen its portfolio of green fiscal policy measures to drive forward investment in low carbon technologies.




Rethinking the Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy


Book Description

Renewable energy is important as a substitute for finite fossil fuels and inflexible nuclear power and could conceivably power the world. However, this is challenging as the world is currently 80% dependent on fossil fuels, and renewable sources produce only about 15% of total energy. Conversion technologies for use with many of the eight different primary sources of renewable energy are only just emerging as viable technologies. While renewable energy sources will not run out, and their use involves little or no release of carbon dioxide or ionising wastes, they do have local environmental impacts of their own. This book analyses the nature of environmental impacts from renewable sources. A novel method of assessing impacts is explored based on a set of parameters centred on how diffuse or concentrated the energy flow is. The approach that is developed will inform engineers, designers, policy makers and planners as well as researchers in the area.







Regulating Water Security in Unconventional Oil and Gas


Book Description

This book addresses the need for deeper understanding of regulatory and policy regimes around the world in relation to the use of water for the production of ‘unconventional’ hydrocarbons, including shale gas, coal bed methane and tight oil, through hydraulic fracturing. Legal, policy, political and regulatory issues surrounding the use of water for hydraulic fracturing are present at every stage of operations. Operators and regulators must understand the legal, political and hydrological contexts of their surroundings, procure water for use in the fracturing and extraction processes, gain community cooperation or confront social resistance around water, collect flow back and produced water, and dispose of these wastewaters safely. By analysing and comparing different approaches to these issues from around the globe, this volume gleans insights into how policy, best practices and regulation may be developed to advance the interests of all stakeholders. While it is not always possible to easily transfer ‘good practice’ from one place to another, there is value in examining and understanding the components of different legal and regulatory regimes, as these may assist in the development of better regulatory law and policy for the rapidly growing unconventional energy sector. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach and includes chapters looking at water-energy nexus security in general, along with issue-focused and geographically-focused case studies written by scholars from around the world. Chapter topics, organized in conjunction with the stage of the shale gas production process upon which they touch, include the implications of hydraulic fracturing for agriculture, municipalities, and other stakeholders competing for water supplies; public opinion regarding use of water for hydraulic fracturing; potential conflicts between hydraulic fracturing and water as a human right; prevention of induced seismic activity, and the disposal or recycling of produced water. Several chapters also discuss implications of unconventional energy production for indigenous communities, particularly as regards sustainable water management. This volume will be of interest to scholars and students of energy and water, regulators and policymakers and operators interested in ensuring that they align with emergent best global practice.