This year has seen a paradigm shift in our actions (or inaction) to global climate change. Following strikes and demonstrations, climate emergencies are being declared by governments and cities across the UK. The Committee on Climate Change this month published its 'Net Zero' report, laying out the steps required to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in the UK. The mounting consensus is that things have to change. And that they need to change now.
"Climate change is here now. It is no longer a future event" - Chris Stark, CEO Committee on Climate Change
This month I attended the annual 'All Energy' conference, held in Glasgow. This conference and exhibition showcases renewable and low carbon energies, and demonstrates the number of amazing companies who are rolling up their sleeves and tackling the energy transition. To celebrate the achievements to date, this blog article outlines my top five renewable or low carbon energy projects ongoing in the UK today.
1. EMEC
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) provides facilities for developers to test new tidal and wave energy technologies at their sites in Orkney. The facilities are helping the UK become a world leader in tidal energy technologies. Unlike many other low carbon energies, tapping into the power of tidal flows allows for predictable energy generation, twice a day, every day. Although maximum tidal flows will not correlate to maximum energy consumption every day (as the time of high tide migrates approximately one hour later every day), if well managed, tidal energy provides a highly reliable source of energy.
This energy will be particularly powerful when combined with storage solutions. EMEC are already working to develop practical hydrogen storage solutions to collect excess energy and divert it to be used onboard the local ferries. This research being carried out in Orkney will allow the UK to move towards increased energy security, and in time become an exporter of technology and expertise in marine energies.
2. The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project
The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project (or UDDGP) is an ambitious (some would say ludicrous!) attempt to tap into the hot ground waters of Cornwall for power generation. The project aims to drill deep into a faulted granite mass, and inject water 2.5 km below the surface, into the Porthtowan Fault Zone. This water will then be heated in the subsurface as it moves through the natural fractures in the granite (Cornwall has an exceedingly high geothermal gradient compared to the rest of the UK due to these granites). The water will then be pumped back to the surface from about 4.5 km deep, where it is expected to reach around 190 degrees. The steam generated can then be used to produce electricity and recycled back down hole for the process to begin again.
This is brilliant science if it works! The challenge will be understanding the fault and fracture network below the surface. Imaging through granite is highly challenging. Imagine trying to hit a 300 m target from 4.5 km away while effectively blind-folded! But, if successful, this project could generate safe, clean electricity for many many years to come.
3. The Bethesda Energy club
This pioneering community energy project, facilitated by Energy Local, started in 2016 when 100 households in Wales combined forces to directly purchase the power generated from a local hydroelectric scheme. The hydroelectricity plant was selling to the national grid, and the local community were buying electricity from the grid for a hugely inflated cost. This scheme has removed the middle man, allowing the local community to benefit directly from the hydroelectric infrastructure on their doorstep. What's more, households are rewarded for managing their energy usage to times when the hydroelectric generator is running at maximum capacity (i.e. after it has been raining), or outside of peak times.
The really great aspect of community energy projects like this one is the increase in awareness of energy consumption it gives the public. Similar projects have been completed using wind turbines across remote locations in the Scottish Highlands ensuring educational, economic, environmental and social benefits to local communities. Let's hope many more community energy projects spring up across the country in the coming years!
4. Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Site
Historically, much of the UK's energy was derived from coal, either through home heating via coal fires, or electricity produced from coal-powered stations. As a result, a vibrant coal mining industry grew up where coal could be mined, including around the Central Belt of Scotland. With coal powered stations no longer operating in Scotland, and with other cheaper and cleaner sources of energy becoming available, the coal mines are now closed, collapsed and long abandoned below our feet.
The Glasgow Geothermal Energy Observatory Site (UKGEOS) aims to test if we can utilise the warm ground water that has flooded these old mines for heating homes. To date, 12 boreholes have been drilled in East Glasgow targeting old mine workings that have naturally flooded with water of around 12 degrees. This test site invites researchers to use data collected to access the feasibility of using these mine waters as a commercial way to heat homes.
The real selling point for this technology is that, due to the collapse of the mining industry, there is a good match between geothermal mine workings and housing areas with high levels of fuel poverty. This makes the social impact of this research hugely important.
5. The Walney Extension Wind Farm
Love them or hate them, wind turbines are a hugely important contributor to the generation of low carbon energy in the UK, and in 2018 the Irish Sea become home to the World's largest offshore wind farm: the Walney Extension. It truly does display the capability for wind energy as an alternative energy source. Under optimum conditions, this wind farm can generate enough electricity to supply nearly 600,000 households.
Of course, wind farms can only generate power when it is windy, and more is needed to be done to match consumption and weather. However, this wind farm is a feat of engineering, and the skills and technologies used in its construction have made the UK a leader in offshore wind farm construction.
"The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. The second best time is today."
There is no doubt that the exploitation of carbon-producing energy is impacting the Earth's climate in unprecedented ways. But, given the range of fantastic technologies coming out of the UK, and with policy makers waking up to the fact that the public will support the transition, I fully believe that we will be in track to reach net zero carbon by 2050, and become a World leader in low carbon energies in the coming years.
--- Keep exploring! --
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