The UK's position in the World makes it one of the best locations for using renewable energy - we certainly get wind and occasionally some sun! In fact, in Europe, we get the most suitable weather for Renewable Energy systems to work.

Wind farms
The most common way of getting energy from the wind is through setting up 'Wind farms'. In the last nine years, more than seventy of them have been established in the country, comprising of more than 800 turbines in total.

When they were first introduced they were very expensive, however over the years, initial costs have fallen, and therefore the cost of getting electricity from the wind has dropped considerably.

The government, along with others around the globe have introduced initiatives and proposals to ensure more of our energy comes from environmentally friendly resources. Presently, renewable energy accounts for about 3% of our electricity - of which about a tenth is from wind power - but it's hoped this figure will be 20% by 2025.

How they work
Wind turbines generally have two or three rotor blades which rotate at about 15- 50 revolutions per minute. The blades face into the wind, the wind forces them to go round, which then spins a shafts inside the turbine, which is connected to a generator which produces the electricity.

The advantages of wind power
The case for wind farms is quite clear. They enable electricity to be produced in an environmentally friendly way - there is no damage caused by these turbines because there are no chemical or radioactive emissions from them.

The ground which they are positioned on can still be used for agricultural purposes - such as sheep grazing. If the turbines need to be taken down one day, there is no damage to the environment and no residues are left behind.

The other side
There are concerns from some people who are worried about wind farms being positioned in their area. The main worries are that they ruin the landscape - because they generally have to be positioned on hills to get the maximum benefits of the wind.

The humming noise generated from wind turbines has been criticised by some people who live very close to the wind farms - so there have been calls for them not to be positioned too close to residential areas. There are arguments that the money would be better put into energy conservation, although as prices for wind-powered electricity fall, this will be reduced.

The future
Certainly the number of wind farms in the UK is steadily increasing and as this industry grows, prices of generating electricity in this way should fall. At the moment there hasn't been any development in positioning wind farms off the coasts - away from homes, but where they can take advantage of stronger winds coming off the seas.

The initial costs of setting these kinds of farms up is the main obstacle at the moment, but as the need to use more environmentally friendly methods of electricity production increases, this could be an avenue to explore.

Related Links:

- Wind Power
- Water Power
- Energy and Environment Research Unit
- Centre for Alternative Technology
- Renewable Energy