Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Energy Resources
The UK Government plans to reduce carbon emissions for as much as 80 percent by 2050 through energy saving measures and replacement of the traditional energy resources with environmentally friendly and sustainable ones. This is a part of the UK’s contribution to global climate change initiatives as well as a long term strategy to make the country energetically self-sufficient and immune to a potential energy crisis. But what are the environmentally friendly and sustainable energy resources the UK government has in mind?
Solar Energy
Solar energy, the light and heat that are generated by the Sun are an inexhaustible source of energy and can be used to replace fossil fuel burning to generate electricity and thermal energy for space and water heating. Besides being sustainable, utilisation of solar energy also produces zero carbon emissions. Unfortunately, the technology to capture solar energy efficiently is still relatively expensive and economically infeasible for wide scale commercial use.
Wind Power
The UK currently receives 10 percent of its total electricity from wind farms which are expected to grow in number over the following years. Just like solar energy, wind power is clean and sustainable source of energy that can be converted into electricity. But just like the technology to utilise solar power, wind farms are quite expensive, especially the offshore ones, while many people also find them unappealing.
Biomethane
It is an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to natural gas. It is produced from organic waste but it is chemically identical to natural gas. Biomethane isn’t as clean as solar energy or wind power but it is much cleaner than oil or coal for instance. And since it is chemically identical to natural gas, it has the same applications – thermal space and water heating, generating electricity and fuelling motor vehicles.
Geothermal Energy
Current technology is limited only to utilisation of hot spots that can be used for both electricity generation and thermal heating. Iceland for example, gets as much as 17 percent of its electricity from geothermal energy. Regions which are not as rich in hot spots to use them to generate electricity such the UK can still use geothermal energy for space heating and cooling through geothermal pumps. These utilise constant temperature beneath the surface and can be used for heating during cold months and cooling during the summer months.
Wood Fuel
Although deforestation is a serious environmental problem and one of the main contributors to the rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, wood fuel can be an environmentally friendly and sustainable source of energy for space and water heating. The key to make wood fuel both environmentally friendly and sustainable source of energy is to source it from sustainably managed forests and plantations, and burn it in efficient wood burning stoves, see lots of guides and advice at www.woodburningstoves.co.uk.
Nuclear Power
It may not be the first association with environmentally friendly and sustainable energy resources but nuclear power is actually very clean and sustainable too. Its main downsides are nuclear waste and the risk of accidents such as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the fallout from Fukushima after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in 2011.