Editing United Kingdom (section)

=== Energy ===
{{Main|Energy in the United Kingdom}}
{{see|Energy in England|Energy in Scotland|Energy in Northern Ireland|Energy in Wales}}
[[File:Ardrossan's fan club. - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|Wind turbines overlooking [[Ardrossan]] in Scotland]]

In 2021 the UK was the world's 14th-largest consumer of energy and the 22nd-largest producer.<ref name="United Kingdom Energy Profile">{{Cite web |title=United Kingdom Energy Profile |url=https://www.eia.gov/international/overview/country/GBR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228165225/https://www.eia.gov/international/overview/country/GBR |archive-date=28 February 2023 |access-date=28 February 2023 |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration}}</ref> The UK is home to many large energy companies, including two of the six major oil and gas companies{{snd}}[[BP]] and [[Shell plc|Shell]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mason |first=Rowena |date=24 October 2009 |title=Let the battle begin over black gold |work=The Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/6424030/Let-the-battle-begin-over-black-gold.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 November 2010 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/6424030/Let-the-battle-begin-over-black-gold.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{Cbignore}}; {{Cite news |last=Heath |first=Michael |date=26 November 2010 |title=RBA Says Currency Containing Prices, Rate Level 'Appropriate' in Near Term |work=Bloomberg |location=New York |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-25/rba-s-stevens-says-inflation-unlikely-to-fall-much-further.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 November 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722062837/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-25/rba-s-stevens-says-inflation-unlikely-to-fall-much-further.html |archive-date=22 July 2012}}</ref>

Renewable electricity sources provided 51 per cent of the electricity generated in the UK in 2024. Wind power was the largest source of electricity in 2024, generating 30 per cent of the UK's total electricity.<ref name="2024 Energy">{{Cite report |title=Britain's Electricity Explained: 2024 Review |url=https://www.neso.energy/news/britains-electricity-explained-2024-review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126085830/https://www.neso.energy/news/britains-electricity-explained-2024-review |archive-date=26 January 2025 |access-date=26 January 2025 |publisher=NESO}}</ref> The UK has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, which is located off the coast of [[Yorkshire]].<ref>{{Cite report |date=14 June 2021 |title=Wind energy in the UK: June 2021 |work=UK Government |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/windenergyintheuk/june2021 |access-date=8 May 2023}}</ref>

In 2023 the UK had nine nuclear reactors generating about 15 per cent of the UK's electricity.<ref name="coal-ref">{{Cite web |title=Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/united-kingdom.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228175735/https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/united-kingdom.aspx |archive-date=28 February 2023 |access-date=28 February 2023 |publisher=World Nuclear Association}}</ref> There are two reactors under construction and more planned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2013 |title=Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf84.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214061431/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf84.html |archive-date=14 February 2013 |access-date=9 April 2013 |publisher=World Nuclear Association}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Nuclear energy: What you need to know |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuclear-energy-what-you-need-to-know |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228181113/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuclear-energy-what-you-need-to-know |archive-date=28 February 2023 |access-date=28 February 2023 |publisher=UK Government}}</ref> In the late 1990s [[Nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom|nuclear power plants]] contributed around 25 per cent of the total annual electricity generation in the UK, but this has gradually declined as old plants have been shut down. The UK government is investing in [[small modular reactors]] that operate via [[nuclear fission]], as well as in research and development towards commercial [[fusion reactors]]. To that end the government entered into a partnership with the US in late 2023 to collaborate on fusion technology, with "a commercial grid-ready fusion reactor by 2040" stated as a goal.<ref>{{Cite news |title=UKAEA implementing the UK's fusion energy strategy |work=Open Access Government |date=7 March 2024 |url=https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/ukaea-implementing-the-uks-fusion-energy-strategy/174384/ |access-date=27 May 2024 |last1=Belderbos |first1=Harriet }};{{Cite magazine |title=UK nuclear fusion reactor sets new world record for energy output |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2415909-uk-nuclear-fusion-reactor-sets-new-world-record-for-energy-output/ |magazine=New Scientist |access-date=27 May 2024}}</ref>

At the end of 2023 it was estimated that there was 1.1&nbsp;billion boe ([[barrels of oil equivalent]]) of "proven" and "probable" [[Oil and gas reserves and resource quantification|gas reserves]] and 2.3&nbsp;billion boe of "proven" and "probable" [[North Sea oil|oil reserves]] offshore, reducing reliance on imports for energy security and transitioning to renewables.<ref>{{Cite report |title=UK Oil and Gas Reserves and Resources |url=https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/vtjkyqnf/uk-reserves-and-resources-report-as-at-end-2023.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250113172052/https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/vtjkyqnf/uk-reserves-and-resources-report-as-at-end-2023.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2025 |access-date=1 February 2025 |publisher=North Sea Transition Authority}}</ref> Emissions from UK gas production are roughly four times lower than imported [[liquefied natural gas]] (LNG), according to the [[North Sea Transition Authority|UK's oil and gas regulator]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=North Sea oil and gas claims fact-checked |work=BBC |date=22 January 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67945281 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201182137/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67945281 |archive-date=1 February 2025 |access-date=1 February 2025}}</ref>

In September 2024 the last coal power station was closed, making [[coal]] no longer a power source in the UK.<ref name="2024 Energy" /> The UK currently has no [[fracking]] (hydraulic fracturing) for [[shale gas]] despite a large supply, due to environmental concerns.<ref>{{Cite news |title=UK's last fracking wells to be filled with cement despite dwindling gas stocks |date=29 January 2025 |url=https://www.cityam.com/uks-last-fracking-wells-to-be-filled-with-cement-despite-dwindling-gas-stocks/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201182917/https://www.cityam.com/uks-last-fracking-wells-to-be-filled-with-cement-despite-dwindling-gas-stocks/ |archive-date=1 February 2025 |access-date=1 February 2025 |work=City AM}}</ref>