Renewable energy

Introduction

Renewable energy is the term used to describe energy flows that occur naturally and continuously in the environment, such as energy from the wind, waves or tides. The origin of the majority of these sources can be traced back to either the sun (energy from the sun helps to drive the earth’s weather patterns) or the gravitational effects of the sun and the moon. This means that these sources are essentially inexhaustible.

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Energy

The key issue is how to extract this energy as effectively as possible and convert it into more useful forms of energy. This can range from directly using the energy from the sun to heat water to using mechanical devices, such as wind turbines, to convert the kinetic energy in the wind into electrical energy.

Why use renewable energy?

Energy underpins virtually every aspect of our economy and day-to-day lives. However, the use of fossil fuels, which currently provide the bulk of our energy, releases greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere. Due to factors such as population growth and changes in lifestyle, the demand for energy has increased to levels where the burning of fossil fuels is releasing enough greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to begin to directly affect our climate system.

There is now a scientific consensus that climate change is real and that it poses an immense threat to the world we live in. Impacts of climate change will make global problems such as drought, famine, flooding, disease, regional insecurity and population displacements worse, and seriously hinder poor countries’ efforts to tackle poverty.

Government targets

The UK Government has signed the Kyoto Protocol. The Government’s Climate Change Programme set out its proposals for meeting its target of a 12.5 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, under the Kyoto Protocol and EC Member States agreements, in the period 2008–12 and seeks to reduce emissions further – to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010.

What role does renewable energy play now?

In 2003, approximately 2.7 per cent of the total amount of electricity in the UK came from renewable sources. In April 2002, the Government introduced the Renewables Obligation, which requires all licensed electricity suppliers in England and Wales to supply a specified and growing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources, and provides financial incentives for them to do so. In Scotland, the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) performs the equivalent function. Northern Ireland is set to introduce its own Obligation in 2005.