About this data
- Primary energy is the energy in fuels before they are converted or used: coal, oil and gas as they are extracted or imported, and the electricity generated by wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power. It excludes fuels used as raw materials, such as oil for making plastics.
- Following international convention, nuclear is counted by the heat produced in the reactor (about three times the electricity it generates), while wind, solar and hydro are counted by the electricity they generate. This understates their contribution compared with fossil fuels and nuclear, which lose much of their energy as heat when generating electricity.
- Electricity imports are net of exports, counted from 1985, when the interconnector with France opened at full capacity.
This chart appears in Energy production and consumption.