The Scale of the Renewable Energy Resource in Cornwall

The summary table shows there are a large number of options available for renewable energy supply for Cornwall.

One of the key issues emerging from this table is the necessity for a wide range of options to match the potential, with no single solution.  The renewable energy technologies mentioned in the table above and more have information sheets available for download below.

Renewable energy technologies

Biofuels

Transport currently accounts for ¼ of the UK’s carbon emissions, 85% of which comes from road transport.

The biofuels page gives a detailed overview of the potential for Biofuels, including:

• Biodiesel and bioethanol
• Current uses of biofuel
• The carbon savings possible from switching to biofuels
• The environmental and economic costs
• The future of biofuels

Biomass

Biomass energy can help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning as it can be made available as solid, liquid or gaseous fuels and can be used to generate electricity. This flexibility as well as the large potential resource base makes the development of biomass resources a major opportunity for the UK.

See the biomass page for more information on:

• The advantages of using biomass, heat, electricity and chp in the UK
• Technology
• Fuel
• Storage
• Biomass boilers
• The costs involved in using biomass compared with fossil fuels.

Solar Power

The earth receives more solar energy in one hour than the entire planet consumes in a year! Solar power works by taking the energy directly from the sun. Solar energy can be captured by solar panels. There are 2 main types of solar panels which use completely different technologies to make use of the energy from the sun: Solar Water Heating collectors and Photovoltaic (solar electric panels.

The solar power page gives details on:

• What solar power is and the benefits of using it
• The technology involved
• Area of panels
• Costs
• System requirements and set up

Wave Energy

The energy contained in ocean waves is a huge potential source of renewable energy and the UK has wave power levels that are amongst the highest in the world.

See the wave energy page for more information on:

• Resources
• Technology
• Cost
• Examples of current use

Tidal Energy

Tidal energy occurs due to large movements of water in the sea. As tides come in and out water near the coast is raised and lowered and the potential energy of this can be exploited. In areas that constrict flow – eg between islands, water flow accellerates and can provide high velocity underwater currents.

To find out more information on tidal energy, including:

• Resource
• Technology
• Cost
• Examples of current use
• Future development and potential

Wind energy

The UK has 40% of the total European wind resource, the most in Europe.This is a massive untapped potential.  Wind energy is the most technically and economically developed renewable technology; it is an entirely natural and renewable energy source which produces no harmful emissions or waste products.

To find out more see the wind energy page which includes:

• Wind as a resource in the UK
• Grid connection
• Environmental issues
• Cost

Geothermal Energy

Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) use the ground within the immediate proximity of a building as a heat source; they transform a large amount of low temperature heat into a small amount of higher temperature heat.

There are several hundred heat pump installations in the UK. The first modern, closed loop borehole system was installed near Plymouth, Devon in 1994 in a new build domestic property.

The geothermal energy page gives details on:

• Resource
• Technology
• Costs
• Environmental impacts

Renewable Transport

The European Commission has announced its proposals for limiting average new car CO2 emissions to 120 grams per kilometre by 2012. The proposals include fines on car makers who fail to meet the target.

There are two commonly available electric vehicle designs for cars: Battery Electric Vehicles, which convert chemical energy to electrical energy in batteries; and Hybrid vehicles, which convert chemical energy to electrical energy via an internal combustion engine and a generator.

See renewable transport for more on:

• The Technology (batteries and hydrogen fuel cells)
• The Costs involved
• The Future

Visit the Useful Links page for further information on the topics covered within this website.