Once something of a minority interest, wind power has rapidly become a firmly established part of the mainstream alternative energy strategy in Britain and across the globe over the last decade. By contrast, the huge potential resource represented by ocean currents remains largely overlooked and under developed, with no commercial [...]
There’s nothing new about burning wood for energy – nor about coppicing trees to produce it, for that matter – but over the last 50 years or so, ‘short rotation coppicing’ (SRC) has gone from a largely unknown rural activity, to forming an important part of the overall energy debate. [...]
The further you go beneath the earth’s surface, the hotter it gets. The centre of the earth is composed of molten rock with temperatures of between four and six thousand degrees Celsius. Hot substances transfer thermal energy to colder substances, so heat travels from the centre of the earth where [...]
It is widely acknowledged that the world has to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. This means we must obtain more of our energy from renewable sources. Many options are being explored, as it seems inconceivable that any single type of renewable energy will be able to satisfy all the [...]
The power of moving water has been used as an energy source since time immemorial. It’s not hard to see why: when you stand by the sea and watch the waves pounding onto the shore, or gaze at a waterfall plunging down hundreds of feet, or just walk beside a [...]
Two hundred years ago, wind power played an important role in the lives of ordinary people. The milling of grain was central to rural life and every community had a flour mill, often powered by wind. In fact, wind-powered flour mills have existed for more than a thousand years. They [...]
Solar power comes from the sun. Beams of sunshine are waves of light and heat energy, radiated across 93 million miles of space to reach our earth in about eight minutes. Why has the Sun got so much Energy? Our sun is a star. Like all stars, it is a [...]
Renewable energy comes from energy sources that can be used without becoming depleted. In essence, it is energy from sources other than fossil fuels. Sometimes, the term ‘renewable energy’ is used to refer specifically to electricity that has been generated without burning fossil fuels. However, whilst it is true that [...]
