Green Energy Solutions

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy is the name given to energy that comes from the natural flows of energy on earth. Unlike coal, oil and gas, renewable energy will not run out. Renewable energy is sometimes called ‘green energy’ or ‘clean energy’ to indicate that it minimises the production of carbon dioxide and other polluting gases. Other names you might hear are ‘sustainable energy’ and ‘alternative energy’.

Why do we need renewable energy?

At the moment, most of the energy in the world comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas. This produces carbon dioxide and other gases that trap dangerous energy from the sun close to the earth’s surface. This is known as the greenhouse effect and is responsible for global warming and climate change throughout the world. This includes an increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, hurricanes and droughts which, in their turn, will cause a variety of worldwide economic, social and health problems. The UK Government has made commitments to reduce greenhouse gases by 20% on 1990 levels by 2010 and to require energy companies to supply 10% of electricity from renewables by the same year (the current figure is just 2%).

What are the benefits of renewable energy?

The most obvious benefits of renewable energy are that it is far less polluting than conventional energy and will not run out. Renewable energy can also be produced more locally. This means that it can help local and national economies by using local resources and creating jobs. It will also help reduce the country’s dependence on overseas countries that may be politically unstable. This will help ensure supply and avoid price fluctuation.

Renewable energy is also much safer than nuclear energy which some people regard as ‘clean’. Accidents in nuclear plants can be catastrophic and there is the added problem of having to deal with nuclear waste.