Wind power Windmade want to build a wind farm. They want to build two types of wind farm: a) A land based wind farm. b) An offshore wind farm. The land based wind farm will cost £50 million to build and will be able to generate a peak of 60MW of electricity. The offshore wind farm will cost £105 million to build and will generate a peak of 90 MW of electricity.

Wind power Wind turbines can turn the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. Wind farms can consist of hundreds of wind turbines across a large area of land. The electricity is renewable. It does not produce any greenhouse gases.

Wind power Wind turbines can make a lot of noise. This can affect the people who live close to them. Some people also think that a wind farm spoils the view of the landscape. The amount of electricity produced varies depending on the amount of wind. This can change over the course of a day. This means that it may not be able to produce electricity at times when it is needed.

Off shore wind farm An off shore wind farm can catch more frequent and more powerful winds than wind farms on land. This means it can generate more electricity. It will have less of a visual impact on the landscape than wind farms on land. But they are more expensive to run and maintain.

Solar park Skyward want to build a solar park. It will cost £35 million and generate a peak of 35 MW of electricity. Once installed the solar cells are very inexpensive to maintain.

Solar park The Earth gets light energy from the sun. It can be changed into electrical energy using solar cells. A solar park is made from large numbers of solar panels laid out in rows. The energy is renewable and does not cause pollution.

Solar park The solar park needs a very large area of about 60 hectares of space. That is about 100 football pitches. The electricity produced is not constant. It is dependent on the amount of sunlight. This varies due to the amount of clouds and is less in winter when the days are shorter.

Wave power Pelamis want to build a wave farm. The wave farm will cost £28 million and produce a peak of 20 MW of electricity The sea’s waves have kinetic energy. Using machines that bob up and down in the waves, this energy can be turned into electrical energy . They float on the surface of the sea, the waves make them move up and down, this motion turns a generator which generates electricity. Lots of these generators can be placed near each other to create a wave farm.

Wave Power The amount of electricity a wave farm produces depends on the height of the waves. Lots of wave generators are needed to get a reasonable amount of electricity. The height of the waves can vary, so the amount of electricity produced is not constant. The wave farm can change tidal patterns along the coastline, this affect the habitats of sea life and birds. The machines can be damaged in storms and need maintenance. A wave farm is moderately expensive to maintain.

Tidal power Rudge Renewables want to build a tidal power plant. The tidal power station would cost £100 million and would generate 60 MW of electricity. If you’ve ever been to the coast, you may have noticed that the sea level goes up and down, because of tides. When the tide is high, the water has lots of gravitational potential energy. At high tide, water can be trapped behind a dam. At low tide, the water is released back into the sea and passed through water turbines, and its energy is used to generate electricity.

Tidal power Tidal power is renewable energy and does not cause pollution. The tides depend on the movement of the Earth and the Moon. They are reliable because there are always two high tides a day, it is easy to predict a long time in advance when these will occur. Building the dam is expensive and may cause flooding in the area behind it. Tidal power is inexpensive to run and maintain once the plant is built. There are very few locations that are suitable for a tidal power plant to be built.

Pumped storage hydroelectricity Hydro want to build a pumped storage hydroelectric plant. It would cost £250 million and would generate 400MW of electricity. But it would use more electricity than it produces.

Pumped storage hydroelectricity Some hydroelectric plants are run by trapping, then using water running downhill. Some are called pumped storage hydroelectricity plants. They work by pumping water uphill into a reservoir. The water gains gravitational potential energy. This water can be released to flow downhill when needed and generate electricity. Pumping water uphill uses electricity. This pumping is done at times when little electricity is being used and would otherwise be wasted. Can be very useful in creating extra electricity immediately when needed.

Hydroelectricity Water flows down river as it has gravitational potential energy which is transferred into kinetic energy. By building a dam across the river the water can be trapped in a reservoir and released gradually. It can then drive water turbines which generate electricity.

Hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity is renewable and doesn’t cause any pollution. A dam is built across the river and a reservoir is formed, this can ruin the local environment. Some animals and plants may die. The water can be released from the reservoir when needed.

Geothermal energy Ormat want to build a geothermal power plant. A geothermal heating plant pumps water down into the ground, the heat beneath the Earth turns the water to steam, this can then drive a turbine. A new power plant will cost £10 million and generate 5MW.

Geothermal energy Deep underground, the Earth’s rocks are naturally very hot due to radioactive decay of some minerals. We can turn this thermal energy into electrical energy. 1. Cold water is pumped below the ground. 2. Hot rocks heat the water, turning it into steam. 3. The steam is used to drive steam turbines and generate electricity.

Geothermal energy It can give a constant energy supply. Some gases can be released form below ground which could cause pollution, but this is minimal. Can usually only be built in areas where the Earth’s crust is thin. Geothermal energy is renewable energy. The plant does not cost a lot to maintain.

Biofuel power plant Helius Energy want to build a biofuel power plant. The power plant will cost £300 million to build and will generate 100 MW of electricity.

Biofuel power plant A biofuel might be methane from decomposing animal waste, woodchips or ethanol from fermented sugar cane. The chemical potential energy stored in biofuels can be turned into thermal energy by burning them. This can be used to heat water and drive a steam turbine to produce electricity..

Biofuel power plant The energy is renewable as it comes from sources that can be replaced. It is carbon neutral. It releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but this was carbon dioxide that was removed from the atmosphere originally by the plants during photosynthesis. Large areas of land are needed to produce the biofuel. It will burn 800,000 tonnes of biofuel ever year. This will be expensive. It can give a constant electricity supply.