Renewable Energy
At City Junk & Gardening we always say that we care about tidying up London, and doing our bit to help leave the planet in a better state than we found it. We are passionate about preserving London’s green spaces, and this doesn’t just mean removing all manner of waste and junk from them. Recycling is a big part of our daily working life, always with the aim of reducing the landfill profile of our customers. Any way that helps green spaces grow and remain the vibrant areas of tranquillity that we all know and love, that’s just the ticket for us!
As well as humble household recycling, there are a number of alternative renewable energy sources that we have been reading about recently. Read on for our top five to hear about some of the high tech ways in which people all over the world are helping to save the planet and combat climate change.
Geothermal
This a neat idea for heating water sources. When you drill down into the earth’s core it gets hotter and hotter as you are getting closer to the molten core. Scientists have recently started using the high temperatures as a heating source to boil water. Boiled water becomes steam, which is then used to drive the turbines at special power stations. So in just a couple of tricks of engineering, we can now convert the natural heat of the earth, into electric power. Some of the power you are using to read this exciting blog may have even come from the earth’s core, think about that!
Hydroelectric
Hydroelectric power relies on harnessing the energy in the natural water sources. The flow of large volumes of water is used to drive turbines which then act as transducers, converting the kinetic energy of the water flow into electrical energy which you can then put to all kinds of uses. Common methods include hydroelectric dams where you effectively block up a large body of water and then force it through your turbine, and tidal energy. Tidal energy is particularly useful because it has a smaller impact on the natural surroundings, and makes use of the daily periodicity of the earth’s tides. A true wonder of modern engineering that does its bit in preserving our treasured green spaces.
Solar
Many of you will be familiar with solar energy already, with countless houses in London already decked out with solar panels. A novel method in which energy from the suns ray is stored as chemical energy and then converted to electricity, solar panels allow your home to harvest the power of sunlight in the same way plant life has done for millions of years. The great thing about solar, is that it is something that every home can consider as a way of doing their bit, and it could save you money on your bills at the same time!
Wind
Wind power is another mechanism that many people will be familiar with. A short trip out of the capital, past the green belt, will see wind farms emerge in the distance. Hundreds of 200 ft. high turbines silently spinning in the distance. The great thing about wind power is that unlike the amount of sunlight in a given day, it’s not really seasonal. So you can get a continuous supply of renewable energy year around. There are also a number of offshore wind farms being built around the coast of Britain, making the most of our island nation and its strong coastal breezes. Expect to see many more wind farms over the next few years on your day trips out of London, a sure fire way to secure a green future for all of us.
Biomass
Rounding off our top five energy sources is biomass. This is a term that many may not have heard of just yet, but it certainly does its part. Rather than fuelling a power station with environmentally damaging fossil fuels that we cannot replace, clever engineers and conservationists are slowly but surely converting some of these dinosaurs to burn biomass. Biomass is any organic fuel, a typical example being trees (or green waste) from a plot of land in which they are sustainably grown, felled, and then used as fuel. By managing the area to avoid over-harvesting, the plant life can become a renewable source of fuel that requires minimal tending and nurturing. Be sure to look out for the rise of biomass fuelled energy over the next decade.
So there you have it, our top five renewable energy resources. Each one is helping us save the planet from pollution and reduce our over reliance on fossil. All in the name of helping us preserve the green spaces we know and love.
