Heat pumps These are devices that can extract and amplify heat obtained from a source of thermal energy. There are several types of heat pump. All use the same basic principle of extracting heat from a source and concentrating it to obtain a higher temperature, usually then applied to water for domestic heating and hot […]
Woodfuel for heat What is Woodfuel? Woodfuel for heat is woody fuel that is burned to generate energy for space heating or hot water. Woodfuel includes logs, woodchip or pellets to be used in applications ranging from an open log fire or a woodburning stove to modern, sophisticated boiler systems. Modern woodchip or pellet boilers are highly efficient, […]
Geothermal heat Heat from the hot core of the earth can be extracted and used in various ways (including ground source heat pumps described separately) Hot dry rocks One form of geothermal energy is produced using hot rocks, a few kilometers beneath the earth’s surface. Water is pumped into this hot, crystalline rock using an […]
No Fuel Briefing (2.1 MB) Industry leaders and key politicians launch “NO FUEL” strategy (27/02/06) (62 KB) Press Release – Tackling Europe’s energy crisis: wind energy, the “NO FUEL solution” (23/02/06) (113 KB) No Fuel Advert (1.0 MB) Viewpoint – European Energy Crisis. The No Fuel Solution (January/February 2006) (55 KB)
At the end of 2005, an estimated 47,000 wind turbines were installed in Europe, generating 83 TWh of electricity, equal to about 2.8% of European electricity demand. The average size of turbines delivered to the European market in 2004 was about 1.3 MW onshore and 2.1 MW offshore. Under the assumption that by 2030, the […]
It is widely perceived that because the wind resource is intermittent, the wind technology is not ‘reliable’ enough to be a major power source. Watching a single wind turbine stop and start, it might seem logical to conclude that, as more of these machines are built, the result can only be an unreliable supply. The […]
The European wind resource There is enough wind energy resources to power all of Europe, whose current consumption is 2,900 TWh.
The electricity production from wind energy and its contribution to meeting European electricity consumption is: 83 TWh in 2005 (2.8% of European electricity demand), to 188 TWh in 2010 (5.5%), to 523 TWh in 2020 (13.4%), to 965 TWh in 2030 (22.6%). EWEA Targets In 1991 EWEA set a target to install 4,000 MW of […]
International Energy Agency Reference or baseline scenarios are not presented as business-as-usual or fixed outcomes, but typically are used for comparison, and present the theoretical case where no action is taken, which is not considered a politically realistic viewpoint. The IEA Reference scenario “takes into account all government policies and initiatives that had been adopted […]
European Commission Baseline scenarios provide a reference comparison for a range of alternative scenarios and energy policy options. The reference scenario from IEA and the Commission on wind power are described here. In earlier reports the data was not separated from other renewables such as solar and geothermal. The European Commission made no estimates for […]
