Renewable Energy Forms

by Iain Sheldon - 10:05 on 27 August 2008

ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE

First of all, let us learn the lessons of the last 60 years.

THE ONLY SAFE NUCLEAR POWER SOURCE IS THE SUN - There are many ways that we can use the sun for power and other resources …….

SOLAR is the most recognizable form, as it is the most visual but it has the disadvantage of only working efficiently on sunny days. Apparatus is usually bulky and can be an eyesore but the power is storable and reserach should be invested in to make it more affordable and less bulky.

REFLECTORS (mirrors) for diverting daylight to unlit areas, through channels with reflectors – surely we’ve all seen the Harrison Ford films and The Mummy, the ancient Egyptians used this system to light tombs and catacombs, yet in 2008, the UK has countless dark corners lit by costly, energy-requiring apparatus.

PHOTOVOLTAIC also uses the sun but will operate quite efficiently in cloudy conditions, as this technology depends upon light to produce D.C. electricity and can even work on bright moonlit nights. It can be produced by means of a thin flexible film that can be fitted to most uneven surfaces, such as the roofing, walls of (eg) farms or industrial buildings

COAL is one of our most valuable reserves and one of the biggest mistakes of the 70-80s Tory government was to kill off the mines. We still use coal, in fact it is our most common fuel used for generating Electricity, but now we import most of our supply at a high price. What stupidity, when we are standing on hundreds of years of supply in the U.K. We must insist however, that any use of coal must use the CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY.

WOOD was mainly used for domestic heating and now, with the modern wood-burning central heating-type systems (they have a self feed of about 18 hrs) these should be encouraged more, especially for lower income families. Wood costs just a quarter of current oil and gas prices and many can obtain it for free. The main advantage is that via a simple plumbing kit, these boilers can be used in tandem with existing oil/gas boilers. This could help beat the energy poverty, now affecting many people in the U.K. and quite possibly force the oil/gas suppliers to moderate their prices (we also recommend most other forms of multi-fuel boilers) - if only our government were interested in the people !!

BIO MASS - is widely used by Chinese peasants who produce heat, gas and alcohol based fuels, without starving the planet. Rather than being grown instead of crop foods, they re-use the waste from their food and other activities. We can utilise food scraps, sewage (we already have plants purifying this, so why not go one step further), grass and left over crop cuttings….. in fact, there are endless sources of useful gases that we could quite efficiently turn into usable energy sources, with even Prince Charles taking a staring role with his car run on left-over wine !!  

HYDRO - the UK is certainly not short of water. Hydro-electricity does not necessarily refer to giant dams and flooded valleys. Most fast flowing streams and rivers could be brought into use quite efficiently with small community generators possibly owned by the community they serve. These could be easily landscaped to blend in with the countryside and countless old villages already have an old mill with a water-wheel in serviceable condition, but simply not connected to the mains.

Ram Pumps are another way to utilise our water, working on the ebb and flow of the stream or river. We should however, avoid total barriers across tidal rivers as they interfere with the wild life in the tidal reaches. Our preferred system is the Coral barrier which is a circular construction allowing the tide to reach upriver, but trapping a reservoir of water to be used as the tide is on the turn, while other generators on the outer side use the tidal flow. Roads could be constructed across a number of these barriers on larger estuaries, to cut down on travel distance - resulting less carbon emissions. Yes, even old petrol-head himself, Jeremy Clarkson has suggested scrapping one-way systems to reduce carbon emissions. In his own way, he is not wrong !!

GEOTHERMAL energy is mainly used for producing and retaining heat and is very environmentally friendly, both functionally and visually, by using the constant temperature of the ground via bore holes. This does need the help of a small pump.

ELECTRO MAGNETISM - we must be the only reasonably modern industrial country that is not exploiting this zero-carbon technology. It can replace all of the high-polluting, local air travel. This is a completely safe, high-speed travel system, as fast as any airline and carrying more passengers with no security delays. It produces no exhaust gasses and runs on renewable power from local sources !!! Isambard Kingdom Brunel would be embarrassed by our current and recent government’s inability to look forward and innovate.  

SUPER CONDUCTORS advances are now at such an advanced stage that no cooling is required. This presents electro-magnetism at its best, as it needs no connecting wires. This untapped power source has untold possibilities its reliability must be well proven, as it is used in brain surgery on a daily basis in our hospitals.

HYDROGEN - this is the dream ticket, water to water with unlimited power in-between. Some companies claim to have solved it with USA investing trillions of dollars into projects and Iceland powering large areas of their country by Hydrogen means. Meanwhile the UK smiles and watches X-Factor !! 

People say that we are going backwards in the UK !! We certainly are, as so few of the above methods are being invested in by our government. Our recent governments should be held legally accountable for their total lack of research and investment in these vital energy sources, as they have now sold us to depend upon some of the most volatile of regimes, to simply exist.  

NOTE : I HAVE NOT GONE INTO NUCLEAR AND WIND AS THE PRESENT SYSTEMS ARE LITTLE MORE THAN EXPENSIVE AND UNECONOMICAL GOVERNMENT PUPLICITY GRABBERS.

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