• Question: Which type of renewable energy source do you think is the way forward?

    Asked by Scarlett to Andrew, Lizzie, Nick, Sonia on 23 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 23 Jun 2015:

      Renewable engery is much more expensive to generate compared with fossel fules which is why we still use it. Also the sun soes not shine when you want it nor does the wind blow when you want it, neither does the tide.
      More reliable renewable is hydroelectric, but there are only so many dams we can build, kick people out of their homes and flood the valleys to store the water for electrical generation.

      However nuclear is much more controllable but, the is the consequency of the waste products to consider.

      The only real solution is to harness the power of the sun in the form of nuclear fusion. Where waste nucleur products are low/negligible, and is fulled by what is effectively heavy water – the planet has a lot of that.

      The experiental fusion reactor in Oxford JET (Joint European Torus) https://www.euro-fusion.org/jet/ has proven the concept. Currently there is an international effort in ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) https://www.iter.org/. This will provide the blue print for building unlimited power supply for the world – and according to the scientists and engineers it will be a cheap and clean source of energy.

    • Photo: Elizabeth Kapasa

      Elizabeth Kapasa answered on 23 Jun 2015:

      I think depending on the country and location that place needs to choose which type of renewable energy source is best suited. It is a massive challenge that we need to work towards in order to be more sustainable.
      For artificial bodies this is a huge challenge since it often requires specialist techniques and materials that are expensive. Also, you often need a sterile environment so for cell culture that requires a lot of disposable plastic and that isn’t sustainable.

    • Photo: Andrew Phillips

      Andrew Phillips answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      I think it will probably be solar power, at least for transport and power in the home, although we need to solve how to store the energy. Batteries and solar cells are both getting better. Electric engineers are also a lot more efficient than petrol or diesel engines as you only need to put in the energy required, rather than having to have a clutch to stop the drive of the engine being passed to the wheels. Geothermal power (extracting heat from the ground) may also be good in certain areas. In London it can even be used to heat buildings while cooling down the tube, which is pretty smart! We also need to be more efficient in how we use power – so air conditioning is very inefficient when we could be using natural ventilation.

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