Why renewables?
Electricity is a basic need in our lives. Yet generating it in the UK currently carries a heavy environmental cost. Conventional power stations produce electricity using finite resources like coal, oil and gas, and contribute significantly to environmental problems.
The nuclear industry struggles to satisfactorily answer questions of safety and the disposal of radioactive waste, and fails to put together a convincing explanation of how it can both generate power at a reasonable price and pay for the full costs of doing so. With so much at stake, and such big questions left unanswered, renewable energy sources are seen by many as the fuels of the future.
The environmental benefits of renewable energy
With sensibly and sensitively selected sites, wind and hydro power offer significant environmental benefits. Wind turbines can be installed within a matter of weeks with minimal local disturbance. Once they’re working, they do not discharge pollutants into the atmosphere and, once dismantled, they don’t leave a damaging environmental legacy.
Harnessing this potential resource
The UK has abundant renewable energy resources. These extensive resources are already being harnessed by wind turbines and small-scale hydro-electric generators - technologies which have been operating successfully on a sound commercial basis in the UK for many years. For example, there are now more than 170 wind projects operating in the UK, generating enough electricity to meet the needs of over 1.4 million homes[1].
[1] BWEA 2007
