What is renewable energy?
Renewable energy (a definition) - energy that occurs naturally in the environment and therefore is a truly sustainable form of energy production.
Renewable energy - energy from the wind, rivers, waves or tides.
Most of this energy comes from either the sun (which controls the earth’s weather patterns) or the gravitational effects of the sun and moon.
The key issue is how to extract this energy effectively, and convert it into more useful forms of power for our use.
We can use energy from the sun to heat water and make electricity and we can design and manufacture mechanical devices to convert the kinetic energy in wind, rivers, waves and tides into electricity.
These energy sources are essentially inexhaustible, unlike the traditional fossil fuels and raw materials needed for nuclear power.
Why use renewable energy?
- To combat the challenges and impacts that global climate change will bring across every square mile of the earth’s surface, both on land and at sea,
- To enable the valuable fossil resources to be preserved for future generations and uses, before they run out,
- To be in control of our own energy resources and to match them to our needs,
- To ensure security of supply and not rely on imported, less secure and cost-variable supplies of fuel.
Some useful links: