Nuclear helped UK cut emissions in 2011

Nuclear helped UK cut emissions in 2011: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/EE-Nuclear_helped_UK_cut_emissions_in_2011-3003125.html#.T-xYetFkzoI.facebook ..."An 8% drop in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the UK in 2011 was helped by an 11% increase in electricity output from the country's nuclear power plants, provisional figures from the government indicate.
According to statistics released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), UK CO2 emissions in 2011 totalled an estimated 456.3 million tonnes, compared with 495.8 million tonnes in 2010. This decrease "resulted primarily from a decrease in residential gas use, combined with a reduction in demand for electricity accompanied by lower use of gas and greater use of nuclear power for electricity generation," DECC said.
The energy supply sector, which includes power stations and emissions from the energy sector, accounted for some 40% of the UK's CO2 emissions in 2011, while the transport sector was responsible for 26% and the business and residential sectors each contributed 15%. Emissions from the energy sector have provisionally been estimated to be 183.8 million tonnes in 2011, a 6% decrease from 2010.
"The decrease in emissions from this sector since 2010 can almost entirely be attributed to power stations," according to DECC. "Demand for electricity was 3% lower in 2011 than in 2010, and there was also a change in the fuel mix used at power stations for electricity generation. The technical problems which had been experienced at some nuclear power stations in 2010 were resolved, and there was therefore more nuclear power available for electricity generation in 2011." A 17% drop in gas use for generation together with an 11% increase in the use of nuclear power led to a fall of about 7% in emissions from electricity generation."