by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Britain seems to be the only country, in Europe at least, that is so full of NIMBYs who will go all out to destroy every effort as to renewable energy.
Windfarms are always met with looks, low level noise, wildlife concerns and others, one of which is also “it will reduce the value of our homes”.
But solar panels too end up with some problems in Britain.
While having its fair share – more than its fair share I am sure some people would say – of wind Britain does rather lack in the sun light department.
A great deal of UK energy needs could be produced and met by way of windfarms and especially also micro-generation.
We also must change the voltage which we generate our power in, especially when it comes to micro-generation. We do not need 240V AC at home primarily.
What we require is a rework of home electricity networks with one circuit that can be fed by wind and solar and runs 12V DC and one circuit that has “mains” voltage for use with big power equipment, such as washing machines, microwaves. Other stuff runs well on low voltage.
In fact, the reason computers, radios, etc., have power supplies in them is to transform the mains voltage down into low voltage direct current, You PC internally uses less than 12V DC – and that is a tower or desktop even. A laptop or netbook uses an input voltage generally of less that 12V DC as well. The same is also true for TVs and other such equipment.
Instead of the process of using renewables in the UK being sped up, as it should and needs to be, things are taking longer and longer; time that we do not have.
What lobby is behind this? “Clean” coal? Nuclear? Oil? Gas? Take your pick and government, local and national, is in their pockets. In the same way as objections are put in the path of every power station that wants too burn wood or and especially landfill gas (methane).
I think it is therefore rather obvious which kind of lobby is blocking any such attempts and are the financial backers behind many of the so-called grassroots protests against windfarms and the likes.
Those protests are far from ordinary grassroots. They are organized anti-renewables campaigns that go across the length and breadth of Britain.
© 2009
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