Environment Friendly Green Electricity

By Author: Christian Wilson
Total Articles: 52
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Currently, over 60 percent of Britain's electricity is sourced from coal or gas powered electricity plants. These are non renewable as they are made from valuable fossil fuels which take thousands of years to form. By burning these, they also produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide which are the main cause of climate change.
The remaining electricity is produced by nuclear power stations, which can be dangerous as their waste products are highly radioactive. With the depletion of fossil fuels, environmentalists are extremely concerned that more nuclear power stations will be built, therefore the need for green energy resources is increasing.
We already have a variety of renewable energy sources that use natural creations present on the Earth to create energy. Here are the main examples:
Solar Power
Solar energy is sourced from light produced by the sun, and then used to make electricity. It doesn't need to be a sunny day for this to work either, sunlight is still there when it's cloudy. Semiconductor technology is used to make this work, and is usually integrated into the roofs of buildings. This ...
... energy is able to heat water directly, making it a greener alternative to coal, gas or nuclear.
Wind Power
Wind energy is collected via the use of turbines or windmills, which are a very popular method around the UK, and you will often see these in areas of high altitude in rural locations, such as costal or mountainous regions. It is very effective and is used internationally in order to source a fairly large proportion of our green energy.
Hydro Power
Water which runs at a speed, such as in a river or the tide of the sea, can be channelled by a water turbine and used to produce electricity. This method has been in use for over 100 years, and at the moment it is currently producing 1% of the UK's energy.
In Iceland for example, there are hot rocks deep underground which can be used to produced Geothermal Energy. When the steam surfaces, it helps to operate steam turbines. On the other hand, water can be pumped into the Earth and heated by the rocks. This method is usually used to provide hot water and heating.
Biomass
Many farms across the country produce a large quantity of waste every year, and this can be used to fuel small power stations. Plants absorb carbon dioxide naturally, which is emitted into the atmosphere upon combustion so it doesn't add to climate change.
The public's interest in green electricity is constantly growing, and energy providers have been looking for ways to make their production more environmentally friendly, in order to meet their consumers expectations. They can do this via various means, such as offsetting any carbon they do create, and supporting or building green energy stations, such as a new wind farm or water turbine. They may also aim to increase the percentage of their electricity they source from renewable resources.