Going green: the pros, cons, and future possibilities
Ask one of the many energy experts in the UK about renewable resources, and he or she will most likely tell you that green energy is the future. Offering various forms of production and far fewer environmental consequences than fossil fuels or nuclear energy, green energy is a compromise between the growing energy needs of the UK population and the need to lessen the impact of carbon emissions and the potentially destructive effects of nuclear waste on the environment. However, green energy does not come without challenges.
Green energy: the complete picture
The greatest advantage of green renewable energy is that it creates a way to slow the widening gap between the amount of energy that Britons consume and the amount of energy that Britain is able to obtain from other sources, such as nuclear power plants and imported petrol. Creating electricity through solar and wind power not only enables our nation to strengthen its economy and break its dependence on foreign oil powers but also provide clean, reliable electricity for the millions of energy consumers that rely on it.
Solar energy provides all of these benefits while also remaining an infinite source. Since it comes from the sun, this kind of energy cannot be regulated or controlled by market effects, making it ideal for planning future energy production. Solar energy also has the advantage of making electricity more accessible to low-income household in rural areas; in fact, these households are even better positioned to reap the benefits of solar energy than many metropolitan homes because they have greater exposure to the sun.
However, in order to understand how solar energy will fit into the energy scheme of the future, one must also examine its drawbacks. Though solar power is a clean source of energy, it can also be an unsteady source, depending on the amount of sunlight solar power cells are exposed to. This makes it less than ideal for providing energy during overcast periods or night time. The cost of solar cells is also an inhibiting factor; a solar grid system may not pay for itself until decades after its installation.
In addition to solar power, however, Britons can also make use of offshore wind turbines to provide electricity. Wind power is often more efficient than solar power, and the installation process for turbines is less time-consuming. However, the energy department and the power industry will need to work together to figure out to make these off-shore turbines more reliable; one of the greatest challenges of wind power is that equipment consistently exposed to the elements out at sea is more likely to need maintenance.
In spite of these challenges, it is very possible to transform the UK into a 100% renewable energy nation by the year 2050. The most significant task that stands between today and this clean energy goal is the need for a more collaborative effort between the government and energy industry power players. These two sides can work together to improve upon the already advanced technology for renewable sources to make them more efficient and more cost-effective. A joint effort would also ensure that the UK energy industry can garner the funds needed to reach the goal of having a completely clean energy scheme within the next four decades.
Though Energy Secretary Chris Huhne recently resigned at the beginning of February 2012, his vigour for creating solutions to energy reform has been a driving characteristic of the green energy initiative. Juliet Davenport, CEO and founder of Good Energy explained it aptly when she commented, “It is vital that his replacement keeps up the momentum behind energy reforms. But that has to be matched with a willingness to listen on things like the need for a more decentralised market. Good Energy looks forward to working with the new Secretary of State to deliver that.”
Source: Good Energy press release
