Renewable souces of energy

Definition of renewable energy resource

A resource that is being (or can be) replenished as it is used

Renewable energy resources

Wind power

Solar power

Hydroelectric power

Tidal power

Biofuels

Geothermal

Wave power

Advantages of renewable energy resources

• will never run out

• Once in place, renewable energy resources do not add any carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. They don’t contribute to climate change

Disadvatnage of wind and solar power

Not reliable. Some days are simply not windy and solar power doesn’t work well on cloudy days

Disadvantages of hydroelectric power

Very reliable, but habits are destroyed when dams are built and valleys are flooded

Only really useful in countries which have lots of rivers so not really suitable for uk

Tidal power

Extremely reliable. At this moment, the UK doesn’t generate any electricity from tidal power. There are proposals to build a tidal barrage across the Severn estuary but some argue it would be harmful for wildlife

Wave power

Reliable and has huge potential in uk which has an extensive coastline

Geothermal

Uses heat from the earth to generate electricity and heat buildings. Reliable but not really used much in UK

Similarity between all renewable resources so far and problem with this

They all generate electricity. A lot of energy used in the UK is used for transport, like cars. Almost all cats in the UK run on petrol or diesel which are fossil fuels

Biofuels

Produced from plant materials

Burning biofuels doesn’t add extra carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (carbon neutral)

Why are biofuels potentially very useful

We can use them to power vehicles such as cars and buses

Problems with biofuel

If we use land to grow crops for fuel, that could push up the price of food