The Green Room: What happens when you put two energy experts in a room and ask them what the are with renewable energy? This week, we’re playing devil’s advocate. We love renewable energy, but this weeks episode is all about understanding how it works, and what limitations we have to work around if the UK is truly going to become carbon neutral.
If you want to know more about the current state of renewable energy in the UK, go to Episode 21, where we take you through where our renewable energy actually comes from.
INTERMITTENCY
Without a doubt, the biggest problem with mainstream renewable energy is intermittency. Wind power is only generated when it’s windy, solar power is only generated when it’s sunny. This creates several fundamental issues.
SPACE & EFFICIENCY
Here’s the thing about most renewable forms of energy: they’re horribly inefficient. That’s why we need huge solar farms and hundreds of wind turbines and massive biocrop fields. One of the issues, if you think about scaling up our renewables, is where we’re going to put them.
COST
One of the great things about renewable energy is that the sun, the wind, and water currents are all free. That means that, theoretically, these kinds of technologies are one-time costs. In reality, the initial outlay can be huge and the continued costs can be far more than you might expect.
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
By far the biggest argument for switching to renewable energy is that we need to save the planet and stop relying on technologies that poison our atmosphere. But what is the carbon footprint of building a wind turbine, or transporting biofuel, or disposing of a defunct solar panel? And what is the impact on the local environment?
Read more:
- Where Does UK Renewable Energy Come From?
- Introduction to Solar PV
- Introduction to Wind Turbines
- Introduction to Hydroelectric Power
- Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE)
- The Truth About Nuclear Power
- Swansea Tidal Lagoon Redesign
- Germany’s energy consumption and power mix in charts
- Falling costs of solar panels
Think we missed something? Do you have a different opinion?
Comment below to get your voice heard…
The real problem is you have people like Jeremy Rifkin traveling around the world,getting people all excited and anxious to make the switch
to renewable energy.Back in the 1980’s,you couldn’t pick up a newspaper or magazine without reading about Rifkin attacking Biotechnology.
He filed a ton of lawsuits against it.His main complaint was that scientists were rushing to use this technology without a formal discussion,
debate and a full scale evaluation of it’s safety and it’s impact on society and the enviorment.He raised concerns and issues and warned of
unforeseen consequences.But now,with his Third Industrial Revolution,Rifkin’s doing the exact opposite.He’s getting people all anxious to
make the switch to renewable energy.The problem is Rifkin’s not raising concerns and issues with renewable energy like he did with
Biotechnology.He;s not questioning the cost,safety and reliability of hydrogen and battery storage and the toxic chemicals and materials
used in the manufacturing of solar panels.Not to mention the reliability of solar panels and wind generators and their impact on society
and the enviorment.