By Paul Bazeley
2017 was a great year for the UK in terms of renewable energy, the National Grid revealed that it was the greenest ever year for the UK.
There were many records broken throughout the year. April saw the first coal-free 24-hours for the first time since the Industrial Revolution. In June it was announced that, for the first time, wind, nuclear and solar power generated more power in the UK than coal and gas combined. Also, British wind farms produced more electricity than coal plants more than 75% of the year. Scotland had some of the best results of the UK, and in October created double the amount of electricity needed to power every Scottish home.
The future also looks greener. Solar power now offers a significant amount of power to the country and it is thought approximately 10 million homes in the UK will have panels fitted by 2020. It’s been announced that in the 2020s more off-shore wind farms will be built and the technology will cost a lot less than they used to. In fact, many believe that off-shore wind farms will become cheaper as larger turbines and possibly larger farms will be more cost-effective.
Nevertheless, while solar power is going from strength to strength at the moment, eventually the number of homes installing panels will slow down and others raise the issue that there is a finite amount of hours in which they can create power. In terms of wind farms, the main issue still seems to be the opposition to the way they look with many seeing them as an eyesore. Others also argue the cost to manufacture them is too high.
Still, surely any energy made from solar power is helpful and contrary to what many believe, it doesn’t have to be a hot summer’s day with no clouds to generate power. Also, it isn’t just houses that can have solar panels; many solar farms are cropping up over Britain. In terms of wind farms, if off-shore wind farms are likely to become the popular source of wind energy, it is unlikely many will even see them as they’re out at sea and as mentioned above, the cost of wind farms is getting considerably lower.
What are your thoughts on renewable energy debate? Share your thoughts with us.
Follow this news feed: UK