ABSTRACT
Sources of energy The expression "renewable energy" sounds like magic, as if the energy that you consume is renewed and available to be used again. In reality, it is rather more prosaic and implies merely that the material from which the energy has been generated is renewable. This may be either because it is derived from a naturally recurring phenomenon, such as wind or sun, or from something that can be replaced, as in the case when timber or arable crops are replanted after harvesting. This is not a new concept, but it has recently taken
on a new perspective and impetus. Wind and water have been used for centuries as a source of power for milling flour and then for industrial processing, as well as for irrigation. For centuries too, coppice was harvested as a fuel, for both domestic purposes and processing. In time, coal and then oil and gas replaced these traditional resources, coupled more recently with the harnessing of nuclear power. Latterl~ however, this "balance of power" has been disrupted by a series of events, some of which were sudden and dramatic while others may have been more gradual but are nonetheless of lasting influence. Many of these occurred far from the UK, demonstrating that domestic energy policy is determined often by global factors. In the Middle East, in October 1973, Israel took swift
and successful action against its Arab neighbours in what was to become known as the Yom Kippur War. In revenge, the Arab nations stopped supplying oil to Israel's allies and the price of crude rose fourfold. This resulted in a widening of the search for
alternative sources of oil and gas in what would previously have been untenable locations, such as Alaska and the North Sea. Also, it enabled an expansion of nuclear power plants and encouraged the development of new alternative forms of energy, notably solar panels, although the technology for this was still of only limited potential under the British climate. Then, in the Ukraine, during the night of 26 April
1986 a malfunction occurred in a power station near the town of Chernobyl, about 80 miles north of Kiev. The nuclear fallout from this "melt down" spread over thousands of miles and lasted many years, with residues being found in sheep flocks in North Wales and Cumbria for more than a decade afterwards. It seems to have had another, longer-term outcome
in that there is resistance within the UK to the concept of producing electricity from nuclear power. No more such power stations are being planned within the UK and the existing ones are going to be gradually decommissioned. These policies may be based upon sincere beliefs, but they seem to ignore the possibility
that Britain may not be able to sustain a viable electricity supply in the future without recourse to some nuclear production. The British Government has only recently taken a fresh view of this, commissioning an Energy Review that was published in 2006 and which concluded that nuclear power would have to be an essential part of the country's future energy requirements. Even if this currently controversial proposal were to be adopted, the time needed for the development of new nuclear power stations is such that there is likely to be a national shortfall in electricity before they can be completed. Meanwhile, there will be an increasing focus on energy saving and on all other forms of supply, including from renewable resources.
