Why Wind? » Other options
While wind power is a big part of the solution to climate change and security of energy supply there are other renewable technologies that can play a part both now and in the future.
Hydropower has been implemented in Scotland for many years. It is difficult to get approval to build new schemes due to the environmental impact of their construction.
Biomass fuels –derived from plant material and animal wastes - is used to generate electricity and heat and to produce transport fuel. There are a wide range of biomass power stations around the UK but these are quite small and often suffer from fuel supply problems.
The sun’s energy can be converted directly into electricity using photovoltaic cells can be used to heat water for central heating and hot water. It can be economic in the UK but usually at small scales of generation.
Tidal schemes have been proposed and built around the world, although often these have been large projects with significant environmental costs. New prototype forms of generation are being tested to use the energy from underwater currents and from waves. Such schemes look promising for the future but cannot contribute significantly today.
