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The Technology Context – B101

Can Wind turbines such as the Greenpark Wind turbine be implemented on a bigger scale?


Throughout the United Kingdom wind turbines are for used to generate electricity for near by locations. For example the Greenpark wind turbine that is run by Ecotricity. The Greenpark wind turbine is situated by the city of Reading. The turbine is a structure that is 85 metres high and the rotor has a diameter of 70 metres. This is truly an impressive landmark. The Greenpark wind turbine is an example of how wind turbines could be implemented throughout the United Kingdom. The turbine powers over 1000 homes and businesses in Reading. And this is enough energy to power 2 percent of Wokingham’s district’s domestic electricity requirements.

The report will discuss the possibility of implementing more wind turbines like the Greenpark wind turbine throughout the United Kingdom to supply electricity requirements for the public. It will also discus the Kyoto protocol and investigate the outcomes since the Kyoto protocol was set up. The financial costs will also be examined and see if Ecotricity can keep their quest up. The political effects will also be examined and see if wind turbines can really be implemented on a larger scale throughout the United Kingdom.

Greenpark Wind Turbine


Is Anyone Doing Anything to Help?

Ecotricity is a company that has dedicated its work to try and implement wind turbines throughout the United Kingdom. Ecotricity claim to be “trying to make a difference”. They have already erected 12 wind turbines and wind farms in the United Kingdom, which includes the Greenpark wind turbine. Ecotricity are also building another 3 wind turbines and have another 9 in planning. At the moment these wind turbines are generating electricity and are directly pumping the electricity generated into the national grid. Furthermore, The wind turbines do not produce any pollution at all. If we take the Greenpark wind turbine, it saves 3018 tones worth of carbon dioxide, 35 tones of sulphur dioxide and 11 tones of Nitrogen Oxide from being let out into the Earths atmosphere. These are impressive numbers but some people ask what the point is of the United Kingdom trying to find a greener energy source? Why build these amazing structures when countries like America and China are not doing anything on the same scale to try and prevent and limit the amount of pollution emissions being let out into the atmosphere.

Kyoto Protocol

According to the Pollution Handbook 2007, on 21st March 1994, 50 countries came together to discus and sign a new protocol to address the obvious change in climate. In the protocol many rules and regulations were put into place that involved each country taking responsibility for their own emissions produced. In 1997 the countries met again to discuss the main task of cutting the amount of emissions of 6 greenhouse gases. The gases included methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride and mainly carbon dioxide, which in 1990 made up 66% of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. In 2005, the United Kingdom has made a 5.5% drop in its carbon dioxide emissions since 2005 with a slight rise in 2004 which had a 0.25% raise compared to 2005 figures. These figures are already better than the average of 5.2% drop of its carbon dioxide that is expected in the years 2008 to 2012 discussed in the Kyoto protocol compared to the 1994 figures.

CO2 through the years

30% of the carbon dioxide emissions are caused by burning fossil fuels. This means that if wind turbines were implemented throughout the United Kingdom the amount of carbon dioxide produced in 2005 would have decreased from 153 000000 tones to 107100000 tones of carbon dioxide produced, which is a considerable difference.

Fuel comparison

Is it possible?

There is sustainable technology that can cut out the need of fossil fuels to generate electricity altogether and when only Ecotricity are producing wind turbines on a national scale. There must be a reason for the lack of interest in this technology?
According to the goverments statistics the population in the United Kingdom has grown to over 60 million people and most of their needs are supported from using a mixture of fossil fuels. Wind turbines would have to be able support the British populations’ needs. On the basis that there is an average of 4 people to a home and there are over 1500000 homes in the United Kingdom and 1 wind turbine can support up to 1500 homes, this means that there would have to be over 1000 wind turbines implemented throughout the United Kingdom. This would involve alot of work and at this time with current technology, it does not seem possible. Technology is being developed more everyday and this is the same for wind turbines. Once the technology is developed and can produce more electricity and support more homes, the number of turbines required will be decreased and it could be possible to build more turbines throughout the United Kingdom.
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=6)

Financial Costs

Ecotricity have spent over £25 million this year to develop and maintain their wind turbines. However with big companies including WWF and the Body Shop using Ecotricity’s wind turbines to generate electricity for their offices and partners such as the co-operative bank, Ecotricity can afford to keep their plans to change the world.



Political Effects

The political effects of finally finding a green energy source would be massive. This planet would have a new lease of life and for the future generations there would not be the fear of how the human population destroyed their own planet. It would mean that electricity companies that generate electricity using fossil fuels would have to change their business plan or go out of business but it would mean more opportunities for new greener companies to build and maintain wind turbines that generate the most electricity possible from a wind turbine.

Leading the way

The United Kingdom has made an effort since 1994 and the Kyoto protocol has been signed, but there has not been motivation to find another energy source. There are many options to generate greener energy that includes solar and tidal power but only wind power has the versatility of being able to be placed where ever the need for a wind turbine is. Ecotricity are trying to put up as many wind turbines as possible but are a long way of the number of turbines that would be required to power the whole of the United Kingdom. The technology used in a wind turbine is amazing but to implement them throughout the United Kingdom would require a single wind turbine to power more than the 1500 properties that is possible at the moment. At the moment only 0.5% of the United Kingdoms electricity is generated by wind power and wind turbines. Implementing wind power on a bigger scale would be a enormous job and in the foreseeable future not possible. This is such a shame because wind turbines do not just generate 100% free greenhouse gases electricity but they also look fantastic and the wind turbines already up and running are already land marks that tower above their surroundings.

Conclusion

The Earth’s fossil fuels are running out fast and our damaging the atmosphere, the signs are clear to see, with freak weather spells and the polar ice caps melting. A new form of greener electricity needs to be implemented not just in the United Kingdom but throughout the world. In answer to the question “can wind power be implemented on a bigger scale?” I believe it can be and as long we have companies like Ecotricty trying to do that bit extra it could happen. However, there are so many draw backs to wind power and wind turbines are still being developed. Hopefully, the day will come where a greener electricity source will be used; until that day comes we have to rely on what is available to us.

Reference List

Page revised 2008-02-09 11:37 • ©2012 University of Portsmouth • This website uses wikkawiki.org software.