Is it better to use electricity than to burn fossil fuels?

Is it better to use electricity than to burn fossil fuels? Well, electricity isn’t a fuel in itself, so it depends how the electricity is generated.

The UK has a national policy, so it is easy to get the figures.

35% of the UK’s electricity is generated from gas fired plants. 2% from coal fired plants. 3% from oil fired plants. 12% from bio-mass fired plants. Nuclear accounts for 16% of electricity generation and wind for 24.2%.

So – at least 40% of the UK’s electricity is produced in plants fuelled by fossil fuels.

The USA varies from State to State. For example, West Virginia generates nearly 90% of its electricity in plants burning fossil fuels. Delaware gets 95% of its electricity from natural gas. Washington State gets over 60% of its electricity from plants powered by hydroelectricity from the Columbia River