Renewable energy is any kind of energy source that can replenish itself in a reasonable amount of time. Solar and wind are the most common renewable energy sources in the UK, and there’s also growing interest in tidal generation. In comparison to other countries, deploying a renewable like geothermal energy is a more limited option due to the UK’s geology.
Another source of renewable energy is incineration of certain types of waste including biomass. This is considered renewable as biomass can be replenished quickly, however it’s often considered a more controversial energy source because it emits greenhouse gasses at the source but can reduce the overall emissions compared to letting the waste go into a landfill.
A major challenge for the switch to renewable energy is its intermittency: energy generation falls when the wind stops blowing and the sun goes down. Biomass incineration can provide renewable baseload power (that’s the minimum amount of electric power needed to be supplied to the electrical grid at any given time) and hydro power can provide system flexibility to support intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and the sun. Nuclear energy is also a low carbon energy source and it provides almost consistent baseload power allowing more renewable generation to be integrated on to the system.
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions across the economy, switching to low carbon energy is one of the most important changes a business can make.