Future of Renewable Energy
Future of Renewable Energy
How can the CO2 targets be met?
Are there alternative energy sources to fossil fuels?
Renewable energy sources include:
- Wind
Domestic and large-scale wind turbines on land and off-shore. - Solar
Passive solar: design which ensures that a buildings form and fabric captures the suns energy and reduces the need for artificial light and heating.
active solar: water heating which converts solar radiation into heat, which can be used directly or stored.
Solar photovoltaic(PV) panels or solar cells which convert daylight into electricity. - Biomass
Fuel which is obtained from organic matter, either directly from plants or indirectly from industrial, commercial, domestic or agricultural products. The use of biomass is generally classed as a carbonneutral process. The carbon dioxide released during the generation of energy is balanced by that absorbed by plants during their growth.
Oxfordshire produces about 10 MW from renewable sources which is mainly using gas from landfill and sewage.
Future Energy Possibilities
- A proposed plant at Didcot fired by a mixture of agricultural oils and waste animal fats would produce 15 MW.
- A 5-turbine wind farm, producing 6.5 MW is being built as a community-owned project at Watchfield, Oxfordshire.
- Over 500 such wind farms would be needed to replace the existing Didcot power stations.
