section_path: Economy/Energy
section_name: Energy
paragraph_text: Energy
  
  In 2021, the UK was the world's 14th-largest consumer of energy and the 22nd-largest producer. The UK is home to many large energy companies, including two of the six major oil and gas companies – BP and Shell.
  
  The total of all renewable electricity sources provided 43% of the electricity generated in the UK in 2020. Wind power production is the country's fastest-growing supply; in 2022, 26.8% of the UK's total electricity was generated by wind power. The UK has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, which is located off the coast of Yorkshire.
  
  In 2023, the UK had 9 nuclear reactors normally generating about 15 per cent of the UK's electricity. Unlike Germany and Japan, there are two reactors under construction and more planned. In the late 1990s, 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, Advanced Modular Reactors and Nuclear Fusion Reators research and development.
  
  In 2021, the UK produced 935 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil (and other liquids) and consumed 1,258 thousand bbl/d. Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of oil since 2005. In 2020, the UK had around 2 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.
  
  In 2021, the UK was the 21st-largest producer of natural gas in the world. Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004. In 2020, the UK produced 1.8 million tonnes of coal falling 91% in 10 years. In 2020 it had proven recoverable coal reserves of 26 million tonnes. The UK Coal Authority has stated that there is a potential to produce between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes of coal through underground coal gasification or ' fracking ', and based on current UK coal consumption, such reserves could last between 200 and 400 years.