Electricity Generation

Daniel Kawczynski
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of electricity produced in the UK comes from (a) wind, (b) tidal, (c) solar and (d) biomass sources.

Malcolm Wicks
The latest available data are for the calendar year 2005 and are published in Table 7.4 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, 2006 as follows:

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|                                      |Generation GWh|Percentage of UK electricity generation|
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|Wind                                  |2,908         |0.7                                    |
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|Solar photovoltaics                   |8             |—                                      |
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|Hydro                                 |4,961         |1.2                                    |
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|Landfill gas                          |4,290         |1.1                                    |
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|Sewage sludge digestion               |400           |0.1                                    |
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|Municipal solid waste combustion      |964           |0.2                                    |
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|Co-firing of biomass with fossil fuels|2,533         |0.6                                    |
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|Other biofuels                        |855           |0.2                                    |
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|                                      |              |                                       |
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|Total generation from renewables      |16,919        |4.2                                    |
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|                                      |              |                                       |
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|Total UK electricity generation       |400,525       |100                                    |
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