Wales is in the early years of developing renewable energy

Mike Hedges – MS for Swansea East 

The most widely used renewable energy sources are solar energy, wind power and hydropower. We are in the early days of developing renewable energy. If you compare it to steam, it took almost two hundred years from the first steam energy being produced to James Watt producing something that was efficient. Renewable energy installations can be large or small and are suitable for both urban and rural areas

Solar power is not new, it dates from before the Christian era, when mirrors were used to light fires. Today we have solar power generating electricity by using radiation from the sun to produce heat, and that heat can then be used to generate electricity.

Solar panels rely on sunlight, but they only generate electricity during daytime, when sunlight is shining on them. If the sun is shining on a solar panel, you can use the electricity for your own power needs, reducing your electricity bill, and any excess can be sold to the grid. If it is cloudy, they are less effective and at night they do not generate any electricity at all.

We also have solar farms, which are large areas of land covered with possibly  thousands of solar panels that generate electricity. There is one near Morriston Hospital that generates electricity that is used in the hospital thus travelling  a short distance. I am a big fan of local generation.

Sun

Some solar farms have fixed solar panels that always face the same direction. Some have moving panels that turn so they always directly face the sun. This helps them generate as much electricity as possible from direct sunlight.

Solar farms also have batteries that store energy so they can keep providing electricity when there is no direct sunshine. The sun heats the earth even when there is no direct sunshine. If it did not, we would not be able to live here.

Japan has developed transparent solar panels that can use UV light to generate electricity. These panels could be an energy-efficient replacement for windows, and they would generate electricity 24 hours a day. Research in America has created solar panels that can take heat energy from infrared radiation and could  work 24 hours a day.

Progress

Wind is a growing source of reliable and clean energy around the world, and a crucial part of the journey to net zero. It has been used for thousands of years including water pumps and windmills. In Denmark, wind power was an important part of the decentralised electrification in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

Major progress took place in 1978, when the world’s first multi-megawatt wind turbines were constructed. It pioneered many of the technologies used in modern wind turbines. Especially important was the wing construction, and it used help from German aeronautical specialists. The power plant that could deliver 2 MW had tubular towers, pitch-controlled wings and three blades.

Danish commercial wind power development stressed incremental improvements to capacity and efficiency, based on extensive serial production of turbines, and the practical consequence of this was that all commercial wind turbines use a lightweight three-blade upwind design.

Offshore wind power began to expand beyond fixed-bottom shallow water turbines in the first decades of the 2000s. The world’s first operational deep-water large capacity floating wind turbine became operational off Norway in 2009.

Power

Two myths exist about wind turbines. The first is that they are very noisy. They click when they come on but otherwise, they are silent and the second is that they are a bird graveyard. I have visited several wind farms, and I have never seen a dead bird.

The Swansea Bay tidal lagoon is a potentially groundbreaking renewable energy project. It is designed to be the world’s first energy-generating tidal lagoon with a capacity of 320 MW, capable of powering approximately 120,000 houses for 120 years. The lagoon features underwater turbines and aims to contribute significantly to the UK’s energy strategy, providing a sustainable energy source while helping to reduce carbon emissions.

Unfortunately, the short-sightedness of the Conservative Government stopped it happening. Tidal energy is generated by the gravitational forces of the moon and sun, making it a consistent source of power. Unlike wind and solar energy, tidal patterns are predictable, producing reliable energy generation.

Tidal energy systems typically have a minimal impact on the environment and have a long lifespan and tidal energy infrastructure such as turbines and barrages can have an operational life exceeding 50 years. On energy efficiency, tidal lagoon plants can achieve high efficiency rates, converting a significant portion of kinetic energy from the tide into electrical energy.

We need improved battery technology. The future battery developments could include graphene-based, aluminium air, magnesium iron, calcium iron, zinc air, quantum dot batteries, lithium sulphur batteries, sodium iron batteries, silicon anode batteries, and solid-state batteries.

I do not know which one of these will be the most successful, or if any other battery technology will be invented. What we are waiting for is a big jump in battery technology. that will provide a major advance in storage.

Alternative

We are in the early years of development of renewable energy. Some will be more successful than others. Key to the development of new renewable energy will be the efficient collection of ultraviolet  and infrared radiation from the sun, the development of a large number of tidal lagoons, the creation of local energy provision. We have the capacity to generate electricity everywhere, with areas becoming self-sufficient or nearly self-sufficient.

Finally, the key is battery technology and there are a lot of possibilities. Improving storage and the ability to provide a cheap storage facility is the most important future development. The alternative is much of the earth becoming uninhabitable. Finally, we must remember that we are in the early years of the development of renewable energy.