Are renewables the answer to the enegy problem?
Sadly, the answer to this question is no. Juggling reliability of energy supplies, affordability and the need to deal with climate change is an incredibly complex task where no single set of technologies offer a definitive answer. Tackling these issues on several fronts will mean reducing our demand for energy, cleaning up fossil fuels and looking hard again at the nuclear option. That said renewables could have a huge role to play. After all, in a hundred years when oil and gas resources have dwindled and we have inflicted further damage on our planet, can we imagine renewables not playing a major role in sustaining our societies? One issue with renewable energy is that it is incredibly diverse. ‘Mechanical’ renewable technologies, such as wind or hydroelectric power are the most advanced; huge investments in hydroelectric power were made in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Although many of these developments would not now survive environmental scrutiny, well-established hydroelectric technolo
