There is much talk about renewable energy resources, with environmental organisations encouraging the UK government, businesses and consumers to take more seriously the problems of continued fossil fuel use and the benefits of renewable energy. There are many different renewable energy resources available to us in this country, and we have put together some information below on the main energy sources and the potential they offer.
You will find more detailed information on the individual renewable energy resources by following the links in the text.
UK RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES
- Hydro Electric Power - In the UK we currently have approximately 1500MW of hydro electric generating capacity which accounts for about 40% of the renewable energy generated in this country. There is, however, potential for considerable expansion especially in the area of small or micro hydro power systems
- Solar power – This renewable energy is still relatively small scale in the UK, with both solar photovoltaic and solar thermal panels usually installed on buildings. Currently over 1.5MW of solar photovoltaic energy is produced from such panels with this set to increase.
- Tidal Power - There is currently only one tidal power site in the whole of Europe, in La Rance, France. This is a 240MW power station, and it is estimated that a similar scheme across the Severn could alone produce up to 5% of the UK’s electricity requirements, not taking into account that there are many other suitable sites around the country.
- Wave power - The UK wave resource is massive and is the best in Europe. The world’s first commercial shoreline wave power plant was built in this country and there is the potential for this type of renewable energy to generate double the UK’s electricity requirements. This may not be practical for many reasons including the need to further develop the technology to harness the power as effectively as possible, but research continues into this energy source.
- Wind power - The amount of electricity generated by both onshore and offshore wind power in the UK is growing steadily. Currently, approximately 2700MW of wind energy is generated onshore, plus a further 560MW offshore; enough to power 1,358,550 homes. With a further 1600MW+ under construction and more withplanning consent, the total power generated from wind power should soon reach over 6700MW for onshore and over 5400MW for offshore, with even more projects seeking planning permission.
Sources: www.british-hydro.org, www.totalsolarenergy.co.uk, www.reuk.co.uk, www.berr.gov.uk, www.bwea.com 2009
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