Energy, especially electricity, is vital in today’s economy however demand for electricity is currently so high that the available supply may not be sufficient over the next 25 years. Electricity lights our homes, powers our technology and is a fundamental factor in everybody’s day to day lives.
In 2012, the energy generator Ofgem announced that Great Britain risks running out of energy. (Business, 2012). In the United Kingdom, equipment which is used to generate electricity has suffered from years of under investment. This has resulted in an inefficient system that distributes energy across the country. Most of the UK’s electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels. In 2010, Energy UK reported that the UK currently use 47% natural gas and 28% coal to supply the countries power. (Energy-uk.org, 2010).
In 2007, the United Kingdom Government agreed to an overall European Union target of generating 20% of the European Union 's energy supply from renewable sources by 2020. The total of all renewable electricity sources provided for 14.9% of the electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2013, reaching 53.7 TWh of electricity generated. (Daley, 2015).
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro, biomass and biofuels for transportation. Solar power is recently becoming more popular across the United
The stage for a deeper integration of Renewable Energies in the UK was set by a number of these policies which has evolved over the years. These policies however were not delivering maximum efficiency when compared to other policies in other European countries. For instance, the inefficiency of some of the policy mechanisms when compared to those obtainable in Germany had been severally argued. The Energy White Paper 2003 was largely a response to the future of the UK Energy industry drawing from the failures of these past policy implementations.
Our society has faced two major energy related problems since the Industrial Revolution. The first is where our future energy resources are going to come from. The United States both consumes and produces an immense
As the global population increases exponentially, having passed six billion in 1999, the world population is expected to be 8.9 billion by the year 2050. The worlds energy consumption will increase by an estimated 54 percent by 2025. Energy demand in the industrialized world is projected to grow 1.2 percent per year. Energy is a critical component of sustained economic growth and improved standards of living. One of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. As the world’s technological enhancements and standards of living improve, so too does their appetite for electricity.
Most of the energy that we use comes from fossil fuels like petroleum and coal that provide electricity and gas to power our growing energy needs. These fossil fuels, currently providing most of our home energy needs are finite resources, which mean that, they will eventually run out. Furthermore, the world’s population is growing rapidly. Countries are becoming more industrialised and are using notable amount of energy. Individuals are consuming nearly twice as much as energy as they were using 30 years ago. In Australia itself, the total amount of energy consumed by households has increased over the past two decades and is forecast to increase. This could be due to the dependence of our standard of living on easily available energy. Between
America should pursue alternative energy sources because “With only 5 percent of the worlds population, the United States consumes almost one-quarter (22.5%) of global energy”. (((Josef Bram, 15))) With such a small percentage of the world’s population and still one of the largest consumers of energy the U.S should be looking for new and better ways to generate energy. Currently The U.S’s energy is supplied using traditional sources. According to Canadian scientist and policy analyst Vaclav Smil “Todays energy 29% from coal, 33% from oil and gas, and 33% from soft-energy (alternative sources)” (((Smil, 47))) Most of the energy we use on a daily basis is not produced using clean methods. Some alternative energy sources that are already in place within the United Stats are wind, solar, and hydraulic.
Renewable energy is energy from a source that is not depleted when it is used.
With the world population now past 7 billion, the demand for energy is at the highest level it as ever been. The average person today uses 57 kWh of energy per day, with the United States using a staggering 228 kWh of energy per person per day. This includes everything from home heating and cooking, powering appliances, lighting cities, and transportation. In 2008, the total world production of energy was approximately 20,261 TWh. Roughly 37% of this energy came from petroleum, 25% came from natural gas, and 21% came from coal. About 41% of the total energy produced goes to electric power, while approximately 28% goes to transportation.
In the mid-1960s, sources of natural gas were found in the North Sea. By the 1980s, although coal was the primary source of electricity in the country, gas was seen as the cleanest, cheapest and most reliable source of energy available (Bradshaw, 2012, p. 7). However by 2005, North Sea production dried up and the UK was once again dependent on foreign gas imports. In 2009 imports from foreign states supplied almost half the UK’s energy needs; by 2020 this is expected to rise to between 80 and 90 percent. In 2011, the demand for gas reached 37% (Taylor, 2013, p. 109). Thus like many other countries in the EU, today the UK is debating the costs of importing energy from overseas and the importance of energy security. There
1. Discuss your understanding of renewable resources and energy efficiency. Renewable energy is defined as any natural source of energy that does not come from fossil or nuclear fuels. A few examples are wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, and even hydropower.
Have you ever wondered how many sources for energy you use during your day? We use energy to drive our cars, heat and light our homes, and provide efficiency at our jobs. We live hectic and demanding lives and little thought is given about the types of energy resources we have used from the time we wake up to our alarm clocks to the time we lay our head down in our warm cozy bed at night. According to the Energy Information Agency, in 2012, the primary energy consumption in the United States was about 95 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu). That is equal to 18% of world total primary energy consumption. The world total primary energy consumption was about 529 quadrillion Btu. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Defines a Btu as “the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at a specified temperature (as 39°F)” (2015).
Electricity is part of our daily lives, which makes our lives easier since it has been discovered, but nobody thought about the dangerous consequences we will face, now and in the future. In addition, most people do not know how electricity is produced; they just know how to consume it. Burning coal in giant boilers to generate steam that produces electricity and power other industries. However, the side effects of the use of coal to process energy have caused massive damage to Mother Nature and our environment that is escalating to the next level. This is the destruction of our environment. Electricity is primary conveniences as we continue develop our ways of living. But people must find alternative ways to get power without damaging our environment.
The International Energy Agency estimates that by the year 2003 forty percent of the world's energy production will be from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear power. Nevertheless, the need for
The world around us mostly runs on fossil fuels in order to produce electricity; however, there will be a period that comes where we will run out of those fossil fuels. We only have so much time before a crisis hits and we have nothing left to produce the energy we need. In order for our country to produce the energy and electricity we need, we must do something about it. As a country, we must figure out how we can make the switch to using more renewable energy before it is too late and we run out of fossil fuels.
Everyday in the UK, 60+Million people will have access to electricity, A startling figure. In this dissertation I will be analysing how the efficiency in the generation and transmission of electricity could be improved across the UK. Along with a consideration of the possible future fuels that could be used to satisfy our electricity demand.
Renewable energy is energy collected from natural resources that are continually replenished, so it can never be exhausted. The earth has copious natural resources such as, water, wind, solar, and geothermal that can all be used repeatedly and replenished naturally. Since all people use energy in their everyday lives, using renewable energy is a convenient alternative to fossil fuels. Today many groups in the U.S. such as, The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) are trying to make renewable energy the chief source of energy in the nation. Similarly, the Energy Department is trying to transition to renewable energy for a better future. Using renewable resources to generate electricity is immensely beneficial to the environment.