Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by renewable (a) electricity and (b) heat generation in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Wales in 2014.

The table below shows how many tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by renewable electricity in each of the UK, England, Scotland and Wales in 2014.

Carbon emissions displaced by renewable electricity generation have been calculated as renewable electricity generation multiplied by the average emissions factor for electricity supplied by fossil fuel stations in 2014. A breakdown of electricity generation for the UK countries can be found in Energy Trends table ET 6.1 at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables

Carbon dioxide emissions factors for electricity supplied can be found in table 5D of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2015, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

Information on the carbon savings from the total renewable heat produced in the UK is not available. Chapter 6 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics provides more information on renewable heat, and shows that 2,730 ktoe of renewable fuels were used to generate heat in 2014. The full renewable energy chapter is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes