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Introduction

The requirement for an adequate and secure supply of energy is of strategic importance. Most of the UK's energy demands are met by burning fossil fuels and, to a lesser extent, by generating nuclear power, with only a tiny residue of about 2% being derived from renewable sources. Fossil fuels are responsible for the majority of emissions of greenhouse gases (notably carbon dioxide) and reduced energy consumption as well as a shift away from fossil fuels is regarded as a key requirement for tackling climate change. (Go here for an overview of carbon dioxide emission in Lancashire.) Burning fossil fuels also releases other gases and pollutants into the atmosphere, particularly sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and black smoke. (Go here for an assessment of air quality in Lancashire.)

As well as generating greenhouse gases, energy production and distribution can affect the environment in many other ways, including through exploration for fuel, transportation, storage, conversion, impact on the landscape and the disposal of waste products. There has been an overall increase in the UK's energy use since 1980 in the order of 14%. Consumption by industry has fallen by nearly a third due to improvements in energy efficiency, a decline in energy intensive industries, changes in types of fuels used and the fact that some industrial uses such as space heating do not increase in line with output. But these reductions have been more than offset in other sectors, particularly transport for which energy consumption has increased by more than two-thirds since 1980. The domestic and service sectors have shown less dramatic increases of around 18%.

The importance of local and regional decision making in delivering a number of national policy objectives was first raised in the 2003 Energy White Paper. Subsequently the Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR), embarked on a major project to derive regional and local (district) estimates separately for electricity consumption, gas, road transport and remaining fuels. Full details of the methodology underlying each of these separate estimates together with associated local and regional data for the whole of the UK are published in "Energy Trends" available from the BERR website. The relevant Lancashire statistics can also be obtained from our Data Download Centre.

The compilation of the four separate estimates (less some energy uses such as aviation and shipping that cannot be meaningfully allocated locally) allowed BERR to derive total energy consumption at regional and local levels. The latest are for the year 2005 using up-dated methodology and improved sources of data. It should, however, be stressed that the derived statistics are still classed as "experimental": this means that their production continues to be subject to development. For the time being these local consumption figures are best interpreted as indicative. Moreover, because of changes in the way the estimates were compiled, the latest 2005 results are not directly comparable with the earlier 2003 0r 2004 releases. It is expected that full National Statistics status for the data will be gained some time over the course of 2008.

Lancashire Results

Total energy consumption in the Lancashire NUTS-2 sub-region in 2005 is estimated at 40,257 GWh (or 3,462 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent). This amounted to 2.3% of total Great Britain consumption or just under a fifth of that of the wider North West Region (Table 1). The consumption of natural gas is the largest single source of energy, accounting for nearly 45% of the sub-region's demand, a somewhat higher share than the 39% contribution nationally, followed by petroleum products (34%) and electricity (18%). Other fuel sources, including coal, manufactured fuels, renewables and waste account for just 3.4% of Lancashire's energy consumption – slightly below the national average because of a rather lower local usage of manufactured fuels and renewables and waste as a fuel.

Industry and commerce is the largest consuming sector in the sub-region accounting for about 14,936 GWh or 37% of total energy demand followed by the domestic sector (36%) and transport (27%). Compared with the nation Lancashire has a marginally higher demand share from the domestic sector offset by a lesser share from industry and commerce.

In terms of these broad individual consuming sectors more than 77% of domestic energy consumption in Lancashire is derived from natural gas (against 73% in Great Britain) with most of the remainder from electricity (19%). In the case of industry and commerce, natural gas accounts for 44% of energy consumption, electricity more than 30% with petroleum products (17%) and coal (6%) making up much of the remainder. Unsurprisingly, the transport sector, including both rail and road transport, has near to total dependency on the use of petroleum products.

The wind farm at Coal Clough, Cliviger

Source Denis Oates, Corporate Photographer

Some variation in the contribution of different fuel types to energy consumption is evident within Lancashire (Figures 1 and 2). There is probably no single explanation for this as consumption will vary depending on not only the total size of the population but also on such factors as the socio-economic mix of the resident population and the relative importance of industry and commerce across districts as well as its structural composition. Even a single major energy consumer in an area can sometimes have a dominating impact on overall local consumption levels. In all but three instances natural gas is the largest single source of energy, this being particularly marked in Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley and Rossendale. Petroleum products rank relatively highly as a source of energy in Chorley and South Ribble. This is a reflection of above average levels of transport usage and through-traffic in these areas. Only Ribble Valley has a significant proportion of its energy consumption from "other" fuels. Well above-average coal consumption amounting to over 86% of this fuel's use in Lancashire is complemented by a significant contribution from renewables and waste, representing nearly three-quarters of this particular fuel consumption in Lancashire. This outturn is largely attributable to a single major industrial user.

Figure 1 Energy Consumption by Fuel Group, Lancashire, 2005

Note "Other" includes coal, manufactured fuels, renewables and waste

Source BERR - Regional & Local Total Energy Consumption Statistics

Figure 2 Energy Consumption by Fuel Group, 2005, Lancashire and Districts

Source BERR - Regional & Local Total Energy Consumption Statistics

A further perspective on energy usage may be gleaned by expressing energy consumption per head of population (Table 2/Figure 3). It should, however, be noted that energy consumption levels, particularly from industry and road transport, are driven by many factors other than the size of the resident population. At 27,830 kWh per person, total energy consumption in the Lancashire sub-region is lower than the Great Britain average by more than five percentage points (though the difference between Lancashire County and the nation is much smaller at two percentage points, given the "experimental" nature of the data this is not statistically significantly). The Lancashire average does conceal a large variation between districts. Whilst most districts have total energy consumption per head within a broad range of 24,000-30,000 kWh, that in Ribble Valley at over 54,000 kWh is nearly double the national average and about three times that in Blackpool that has the lowest energy consumption per head in Lancashire. There are fairly obvious explanations for such local variations such as the presence (or absence) of major industrial energy users in certain locations and transport patterns. The position In Ribble Valley, for instance is largely attributable to the presence of one particularly large industrial energy user.

Figure 3 Energy Consumption, 2005, in kWh per Person

Source BERR - Regional & Local Total Energy Consumption Statistics

Household Energy Consumption

As noted above, the domestic sector is a significant consumer of energy in its own right, in 2005 accounting for 14,626 GWh or 36.3% of all energy used in Lancashire. It is also a sector in which energy consumption has continued to increase steadily (nationally by about 18% since 1980), albeit not so rapidly as for transport energy. Factors such as the general increase in the population, increasing numbers of separate and smaller households and higher disposable income have all contributed to this rise. Such growth has been only partly offset by energy efficiency improvements such as increased levels of insulation and the use of more efficient electrical appliances. The majority of energy consumed in the domestic sector is for space heating with other major areas being for heating water, lighting and appliances and for cooking. Energy use for cooking is the only one that has fallen since 1980.

As illustrated in Figure 4 showing household energy consumption across Lancashire districts, total consumption is closely linked to population size and is generally highest in the larger and more urban districts like Blackburn, Lancaster and Preston and lowest in the smaller and more rural areas like Pendle and Rossendale. However, in terms of household energy consumption per head, a more meaningful comparison, there is almost a reversal of this pattern with energy consumption being lowest in the larger urban districts and highest in some of the more rural and often more affluent areas like Fylde and Ribble Valley; domestic energy consumption per head in Fylde for example is 16% higher than in neighbouring Preston. Such differentials are influenced by many factors such as the type and condition of the housing stock (including its insulation); the average temperature (and urban areas can be warmer and therefore easier to heat than rural areas); average household size, types of households and the incomes and preferences of its occupiers.

Figure 4 Domestic Energy Consumption, 2005

Note "Other" includes coal, manufactured fuels, renewables and waste

Source BERR - Regional & Local Total Energy Consumption Statistics

For further details, please contact:
Peter Kivell
Tel 01772 534157
Email Peter.Kivell@lancashire.gov.uk