SE Academic Review 2023

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11 ACADEMIC REVIEW 2023 ½ x density of air x wind ½ x 1.3 x 9 3 = 474 W/m Raw power x E ciency x x Diameter of blade 2 (5 x diameter of blade) 2 π = 8363200 = 7.44 W/m 2 (c (5 x 21 ) 2

16%

31%

Getting Around Growing Things Plugging In

19%

COST However, MacKay’s scepticism about renewable energy was not only because of the technology but also cost. Here too there have been seismic changes since 2009. According to the International Renewable Agency (2020), the cost of solar energy has dropped by 82% since 2010 with the module prices for PVs dropping by 90%. This has driven the cost of solar energy down to £0.03/kWh which is around a fifth of the cost of the cheapest fossil fuel electricity (Goodall, 2020, p. 23). Offshore wind energy has dropped by 29% over the same period and is likely to decrease even further as more wind farms are constructed. SUMMARY The table below summarises all the potential energy output from solar and wind energy which comes to a total of 197kWh/p/d; more than enough to cover domestic energy needs of 79kWh/p/d. Lighting 4 Gadgets 5 Defence 4 27% Making Things Keeping Warm and Cool

However, if I compare this to the actual amount of renewable energy we currently produce, there is still a long way to go. The graph below shows the amount of PV solar and wind we currently operate, compared to the ‘target’ capacity which the UK needs to reach to generate 79kWh/p/d. A significant amount of new solar and wind capacity needs to be built in a very short space of time. Figure 6. Solar and Wind Capacity (GW) (UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 2021) Solar and Wind Capacity (GW)

K Energy Consumption

400 Global Energy Use

Transport Stu 12

350

Stu 48

300

250

16%

Food, Farming 15

200

Heating/Cooling 37

31%

Getting Around Growing Things Plugging In Making Things Keeping Warm and Cool

Figure 5. Total Energy ENERGY TYPE

19%

Jet Flights 30

100

GENERATION

UK Total 79

Rooftop Solar

20kWh/p/d 50kWh/p/d 20kWh/p/d 107kWh/p/d 197kWh/p/d

20 13 22 13 24 14 25

Car 40

10 14 12 16 13

Solar Farm

27%

MacKay

UK Statistics

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Target

2015

Onshore Wind Offshore Wind

Total

Chapter 2: Converting Consumption to a Carbon Neutral Electrical Grid Chapter 1 showed that solar and wind energy have the capability to fulfil the UK’s energy needs, however both solutions rely on the electrification of appliances in consumption. This chapter examines how the UK currently consumes energy and whether it can be transferred to a carbon neutral electric grid. I will argue that the key components of UK domestic energy consumption, heating, and transport, can be converted. However, I will also show that there are many areas of consumption that cannot currently be converted to a carbon neutral grid and I discuss some options to address this.

Figure 7. UK Energy Consumption (UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 2021) UK Energy Consumption

200

Defence 4