Renewable Energy is the Future
The present era is the Electrical Age with some justification. Nearly everything in our homes runs on electricity, from our phones to our ovens – and just about everything else. Many of us also opt for electric vehicles as a way of motoring more sustainably.
However, we must stop and think about where that electricity comes from. Sure, using an electrical device doesn’t release any CO2 into the atmosphere, so from that perspective, electricity is clean. All the same, to be really environmentally friendly, we need to think about where our electricity comes from.
We’re so used to being able to press a button for electricity to flow that we often don’t think much about how it’s generated. In most cases, electricity is generated by turning motion energy into electrical energy (electrical potential energy like a battery). The process involves coils of wire and magnets. Some exceptions exist to this general process of turning motion energy into electricity. One is through chemical reactions, which is what happens in batteries. The other – solar power – is more complicated, as it turns light energy into electricity through a mixture of chemistry and physics. More on solar power below!
Anyway, with most energy generation methods, the trick is finding a source of motion energy. The classic way of doing this is with steam power (very Victorian). Water is heated to boiling point, and the steam builds up pressure. This high-pressure steam can escape into the mechanism that turns the electrical generator. Most old-school electrical plants use fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas to heat the water, which isn’t sustainable because these fuels aren’t renewable, and they add more carbon to the atmosphere. This is why many people have considered renewable energy sources for producing electricity.
Photovoltaic Panels
Photovoltaic panels are the most visible and exciting form of renewable energy. Unlike a typical battery, which wears out through corrosion over time (yes, even a rechargeable battery), photovoltaic panels or solar panels last a lot longer. Even in the UK, we get a fair amount of sunshine. As we all learned in high school, light is a form of energy, and a photovoltaic panel or PV panel can transform this energy into another form. The way that PV panels do this is rather complicated and involves quantum physics (yes, really!).
Solar energy is so exciting because the sun puts out so much energy – and we’re not making the most of it. Plants use some of the energy of sunlight for growing, and many of us make the most of the natural light and warmth of sunshine, but that barely scratches the surface of what’s available. As we all know, the sun comes up every morning – even on a rainy day. This means that even on a grey day, a solar panel will be able to generate some electricity, although it will certainly create more on a sunny day.
Producing solar panels consumes a lot of energy in its own right, and some ways of manufacturing them are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than others. However, scientists are working on improving solar cells and solar panels to make them more efficient and to make the process of making them more sustainable.
One of the beauties of solar power is that you can start small at home – a solar-powered security light or fairy lights, for example. Or you can invest in a solar panel for your home that works with your mains electricity. The only snag is that solar power isn’t available at night, when we use electricity the most in our homes, so a battery is needed as part of the system.
Hydro Power
If we turn to the mechanical methods of generating electricity, hydropower or water power is one of the oldest. Waterwheels have been known to humanity for a long time, and the idea of using the force of water to power a mechanism is very old. When people started getting excited about this newfangled electricity stuff back in the Industrial Revolution or thereabouts, water power was one of the earlier methods tried.
The principle is simple: the water flows, preferably the faster, the better. This water turns the generator and keeps going, so nothing is used up, making this a sustainable way to generate electricity. The tricky bit with hydropower is ensuring a constant supply of water – after all, some years, it rains more than others. A constant supply is usually achieved by building a dam to store the water and then releasing the water as needed. This requires suitable terrain, and some land will end up underwater. However, once a dam is in place, it will last very long and ensure an ongoing electricity supply.
Wind Power
Wind generators are other obvious ways to generate electricity. The wind blows and turns the turbo fans, which power the generators as they spin around. These generators can range in size from the massive ones you see in wind farms like Dogger Bank to smaller ones – I’ve seen some in supermarket parking areas that look no more out of place than streetlights.
Wind power isn’t something that everybody can do at home, as they can only be installed in places that get a lot of wind (obviously!), and they need to be fixed very securely, as they can be vulnerable to being damaged by the winds that power them. However, if you live in a windy part of the country and have a suitable place in the garden or on your roof, you can install a domestic wind turbine. They are a little bit noisy, but not as loud as a car rumbling past, and once you get used to it, the sound is quite soothing. Some people worry that wind turbines can hurt birds. This can happen, but you don’t see as many dead birds under turbines as you do on the road, so the problem isn’t that big!
Wind power is a sustainable energy solution, as we’ll never run out of wind. However, the weather is always fickle, and sometimes we get more wind than others. This means that wind power isn’t completely reliable and has to be backed up by another source. All the same, it should definitely be in the mix.
Tidal Power
Twice a day, the tide goes in and out again – quite dramatically in the Severn! This involves flowing water, and the idea of harnessing the motion energy of water is very old. However, tidal energy still isn’t as advanced as other forms of energy. This is because anything system set up to capture the tide’s energy has not to make life difficult for marine life and boating – and it has to stand up to the corrosive properties of salt water. The issue with marine life is vast, as fish often follow the tides to feed and get killed by the turbine blades. However, tidal power can be used, and they hope to install a lot more.
Waste To Energy Schemes
This is the least sustainable option, as it involves burning rubbish to heat water to generate steam to turn a turbine. However, it’s a lot more sustainable than using fossil fuels. Sadly, we generate too much rubbish, and not all of it is recyclable. Rather than sending it to the landfill, it can be collected and burned in a modern facility that captures as much carbon and other emissions as possible so they don’t pollute the air. This means that the problems of plastics in the environment and good productive land consumed by landfills are avoided. It would be nice to think that one day, we won’t produce as much waste, but given the way things are today, waste-to-energy schemes are an excellent way to make the best of a bad job and turn something that is a problem into a solution. In the future, when we don’t throw away as much junk (bring it on!), waste-to-energy plants can still be used but fuelled by plant biomass.