Sustainable Energy options for Northern Ireland European Studies Project

What is Renewable Energy? Renewable Energy is energy that when used will not run out or damage the earth. Northern Ireland uses a lot of renewable energy resources including wind turbines (wind power) and hydroelectric power (the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water to make energy). Unfortunately that percentage of energy Northern Ireland uses in not renewable.

What is Non renewable Energy! A non-renewable resource is a natural resource which cannot be produced, re- grown, regenerated, or reused on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate. These resources often exist in a fixed amount, or are consumed much faster than nature can recreate them The vast majority of energy used in Northern Ireland comes from fossil fuels like Coal (used to fuel fires), Oil (heating) and Gas (heating).

The vast majority of energy used in Northern Ireland comes from fossil fuels like Coal (used to fuel fires), Oil (heating) and Gas (heating).  22% of Northern Ireland energy consumption is caused by transport means, which use petrol and diesel.  Northern Irelands total primary energy consumptions is approximately 4.90 million tones of oil.

5 MW 13.2 MW 5 MW 8.8 MW 5 MW 26 MW 5 MW 2.7 MW 0.78 MW 0.54 MW 400 MW 1082 MW 520 MW 58 MW Wind HydroGas Oil Wood

Types of renewable energy There are a lot of different types of renewable energy. For example, Geothermal and HEP.

Geothermal energy Geothermal energy is stored deep under the ground. It doesn’t cost too much and is very reliable. Its also very sustainable and environmently friendly. Drilling and exploration for deep resources might take tens of millions of dollars

Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped deep within the earth but do lots less damage than ordinary fossil fuels Plants take up a large space and is not a pretty sight either 24 countries generated a total of 56,876 gigawatt –hours of electricity in 2005 from geothermal power making 0.3 % of the worlds total electricity

HEP Encase you were wondering HEP stands for Hydro Electric Power ! Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydro power, i.e., the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants. Worldwide, an installed capacity of 777 GWe supplied 2998 TWh of hydroelectricity in 2006.