In a nutshell, ‘Green Energy’ utilises natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat to provide our daily energy requirement. When ‘Green’, they are all thought to be replenishable and natural. Often, by going back in time, we can see the value of wind power and windmills as modern energy sources. Regardless of this, we are mainly talking about using modern techniques to offer planet friendly and eco-efficient solutions.
The home environment, for example, encompasses a range of energy ideas – including Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating solutions. Equally there is electricity that is generated through roof-installed panels. Biomass Energy is the next phase, and this involves Fuel, Pellets, Stoves and Boilers burning Wood. What shouldn’t be forgotten is the heat stored in the ground from the Sun – often simply referred to as Ground Source Heat Pumps. Not all ‘Green Energy’ is new – by considering Wind Power and Hydropower we are looking at some of the oldest forms of energy production.
Thermal Energy Systems: By using different technologies, Solar Energy is effectively made up of two types of solar panels. Making hot water from solar energy is the first stage – and is known as Solar Water Heating Collection. Then we have the work of the Photovoltaic Heat Collectors, often called Solar Electrical Panels – which transform solar radiation into electricity. Across the board, Solar Panels should be mounted on a south facing roof, at an angle of 30 degrees away from horizontal – and to some extent away from blocking trees, surrounding buildings and chimneys.
Within this discipline, Solar Water Power is often regarded as the most popular form of Solar Energy within the UK. These systems are very efficient – and can deliver 50 percent of a household’s hot water requirement annually. The typical cost for installation ranges from 500-1500 pounds for a DIY system, all the way through to 2-5k for a professional fit.
Biomass Energy Based Systems: Historically, this has come from plants and animals, though nowadays this also includes new genetcially engineered ‘energy crops’. Considering its ability to produce energy in the form of heat and electricity, this type of energy is extremely flexible. Furthermore, within the European Markets, the UK is one of the central producers of Biomass fuels. Considering all this, and the relative lack of C02 produced, makes the whole process highly green overall. Much of the UK wood crop is sustainable, in order to ensure that C02 produced during any heating process is absorbed.
‘Energy Crops’ trees such as Willow and Poplar play a major part in the process – under the banner of Short Rotation Coppice (SRC). Of equal importance is the production of perennial grasses – because of their yield of dry matter. Whilst Agricultural and Municipal waste may be lesser known, they are essential to the whole process. One natural offshoot of agricultural work is Agricultural Waste. Municipal Waste such as food or wood can also be utilised as a biomass product.
Geo-Thermal Energy Based Systems – This is primarily the heating of the Earth (mainly from the sun) and can be utilised in electricity and warm water production. In the UK, we are lucky that we can both heat and cool buildings from the ground source temperature of around 12 degrees. These heat pumps do need some power to operate; but for every one unit of energy they use, they generate four units of energy in return. Heat source pump energy can go one step further (by gaining a 100 percent return) if the energy to power them comes from items such as wind turbines or solar electrical panels.
Wind Energy: The use of wind as a source of energy has been going on for thousands of years, especially in milling grain and pumping water. However, in more recent times there’s been the option to recover the energy for its own sake – and deliver this either to a home unit or to the local power grid. The UK is considered as one of the best sources of wind generation within Europe. It is interesting to note that whilst we can produce 10 percent of our entire power requirement from wind power, at present we only produce 1 percent. Instead of producing electricity at a rate of 2-10p per kWh, we could be generating at 2p per kWh. From this, the estimation of the cost recovery period is around 6-9 months overall.
Finally, we have Hydropower; an area in which the UK does well within Europe. Having said that, the art of using energy from moving water (just like wind power) is very traditional. In total, this could produce something like 2 percent of all electricity required in the UK.
The Hydropower process uses a turbine that can convert the energy from one form into another. The important thing is that, without having to rely on water storage, the turbines can generate electricity. It is by using the eroded national distribution systems, that allows for outdated sluices and dams to be used by techniques known as ‘Micro-Hydro’. This smaller form of electrical output has been recently reviewed and could allocate some 200MW of capacity to the UK system. The capital cost of installing a micro-hydro system can run between 200 and 3000 pounds per kW of energy output.
Because of the energy need of the Western World, we are now seeing a rapid rise in ‘Green Energy’. Within the UK and mainly the domestic sector, we are well placed to take advantage of the schemes above.
It is the drive for installations in the domestic sector that looks to favour jobs such as plumbers and electricians. With EEC and UK recognition of renewable energy getting ever-higher on the political agenda, the grants and financial aid for introduction of these systems can only increase. Gaining installation certification across these areas can only provide further opportunity and job security to anyone already in related fields or looking to retrain. To that end, it may be worth thinking about combined training. You can then get plumbing or electrical training along with green knowledge.
(C) 2009 S. Edwards. Pop to Solar Energy Courses or www.electricaltraininguk.co.uk/Solar-Energy-Training.html.