Trends in Energy Resource Use

• Although we still rely on non-renewables for a lot of our energy needs at the moment, the balance is shifting
• The aim is to increase renewable energy use
• Reasons for the move towards renewable energy resources

  1. We now know that burning fossil fuels is very damaging to the environment

  2. Non-renewables will run out one day

  3. Governments have begun to introduce targets for using renewable resources

  4. Car companies have been affected by the change in attitude towards the environment
• Limitations of the use of renewables

  • Reliability
  • Money
  • Politics
• Scientists can give advice, but they don't have the power to make people, companies or governments change their behaviour
• Building new renewable power plants costs money, so some energy providers are reluctant to do this, especially when fossil fuels are so cost effective
• The cost of switching to renewable power will have to be paid, either by customers in their bills, or through government and taxes
• Some people don't want to or can't afford to pay, and there are arguments about whether it's ethical to make them
• Many people don't want to live next to a wind farm, causing protests
• There are arguments over whether it's ethical to make people put up with wind farms built next to them when they may not agree with them
• Some energy resources like wind power are not as reliable as traditional fossil fuels, whilst others cannot increase their power output on demand
• Using a combination of different power plants would be expensive
• Research on improving the reliability and cost of renewables takes time and money-it may be years before improvements are made, even with funding
• Until then, we need non-renewable power
• Making personal changes can also be quite expensive
• Hybrid cars are generally more expensive than equivalent petrol cars and things like solar panels for your home are still quite pricey
• The cost of these things is slowly going down, but they are still not an option for many people