In a nutshell, ‘Green Energy’ utilises natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat to provide our daily energy requirement. They’re all considered naturally able to replenish and thereby ‘Green’. The older energy skill sets often have value set in times gone by especially when we think of wind power and windmills. This option is preserved by the use of technology, eco-efficient options and planet friendly alternatives.
The home environment for example encompasses a range of energy ideas including Solar Thermal and Solar Water Heating solutions. Next on the list you would find the actual solar electricity Photovoltaic Panels (PV’s) - which basically generate electricity through roof-installed panels. A further factor resolves around stoves and boilers which are known as Biomass Energy. We now also have Ground Source Heat Pumps which is simply the heat from the Sun. Considering items such as Wind Power and Hydro Turbines we are finally getting to very old forms of energy production.
Through a brief review of each we can look at those wanting to train and work in this area and the skills that they will need. Considering the points raised so far, this is expected to be somewhere in the domain of the Plumber, the Gas Engineer and the Electrician. It would be worth gathering information from as many different sources as possible, so check out our other pages on Electrical, Green and Plumbing careers. So it is worth checking out the sites for a variety of training providers as a result bookmark (CTRL-D) this page so you can come back.
Thermal Solar Energy Systems: This technology is based around two core types of knowledge to achieve the results known as Solar Energy. First, we have Solar Water Heating Collectors, which absorb energy from the Sun and transfer this into hot water. Whereas Solar Electrical panels or Photovoltaic heat collectors transfer solar radiation into electricity. Obviously situated away from blockages such as chimneys these Solar Panels basically need to be mounted on south facing roofs at an angle of 30 degrees from the horizontal.
For the UK this is often considered the most popular form of ‘Green Energy’. With the ability to provide almost half the annual need for hot water in the house then Solar Water heating systems is very important. The cost of fitting depends on whether you do it yourself - 500 to 1500 pounds or whether you get a professional fit in which it will cost between 2-5k overall.
Biomass Energy Systems - Includes all natural forms derived from plant and animal products such as wood, straw, poultry litter and ‘energy crops’. It’s the ability of this power source to generate diverse forms of energy such as heat and electricity that makes this so adaptable. It is a useful point to make that the UK is one of the major producers of Biomass fuels within Europe. It should be borne in mind that the whole process is designed to produce energy without an impact on CO2. That being said the process where each tree felled is replaced by another helps to reduce the overall effect on C02 as a part of energy produced.
By the growth of Short Rotation Crops (SRC) the UK is able to maximise the ‘Energy Crops’ return against the plant production overall. Of equal importance is the production of perennial grasses because of their yield of dry matter. Whilst Agricultural and Municipal waste may appear lesser known they are essential to the whole process. Agricultural Waste is commonly formed as a by-product of traditional work in agriculture. Because it comes from food or wood Municipal Waste is also considered a useful biomass product.
Systems Based On Geo-Thermal Energy: Used in the generation of warm water and electricity this energy mainly comes from the Sun and heats the Earth. Having a consistent ground temperature of around 12 degrees centigrade is fortunate for the UK as it allows both the heating and cooling of buildings. With four units replaced for every one unit of energy used these heat pumps are very effective. This system can go even further if energy efficient items such as wind turbines or solar electrical panels are used.
Wind Energy: When you consider the milling of grain and pumping of water it is easy to see how long wind energy has been with us. 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. With regard to wind generation it is the UK that has the highest production within Europe. The fact remains that in the UK there exists the ability to realise 10 percent of our electricity requirement from wind power as opposed to the current value of 1 percent. Frankly, electricity can be realised from as little as 2p per kWh as opposed to the current level of 2-10 p per kWh. Recovery of the cost involved is somewhere between 6-9 months.
Finally, we have Hydropower; an area in which the UK does well within Europe. Just like a thousand years ago we are looking utilising energy from water. That aside it is fair to say that some 2 percent of the UK’s electrical load comes from this source.
It is a Hydropower process, using a turbine that can convert the energy from one for into another. It is by either water drops or Natural River runs that turbines can work through this process ‘Micro-Hydro’ however avoids this system killed off by the larger national distribution methods and plans to use the outdated sluices and dams. This smaller form of electrical output has been recently reviewed and could allocate some 200MW of capacity to the UK system. The expected cost of installing a system such as this would be between 200 pounds and 3k per kW of output.
The demand on ‘Green Energy’ continues to develop in light of the energy demands worldwide. That said the UK is well placed, especially in the domestic sector to take full advantage of the various items above.
With the bulk of development work in the domestic field both the Plumbers and Electricians are set to capitalise in this area. You can now get a range of grants to support the growth of renewable energy ideas within the European market. Equally important is the role of gaining qualifications to install items that we have talked about. By mixing green training with those of electrical or plumbing you could cover both angles.
Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Pop to Click HERE or Green Certification.
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