Evaluate the main energy options currently available in the UK Essay

Evaluate the main energy options currently available in the UK - Essay Example In order to effectively source energy from the available means, machineries or end-use equipments such as turbines, motors and hydro-machineries among others are used at huge quantities. Contextually, in a majority of instances, a substantial quantity of primary energy is reported to be wasted due to inefficient design of machineries or equipments utilised to generate energy. From a general perspective, energy sources can be categorised in two broad sections, i.e., the primary or non-renewable sources of energy (such as natural gas, oil, coal and conventional nuclear power) and renewable sources of energy (such as wood, plants, geothermal sources, tidal wind and wave energy) (Crown, 2009). Notably, the United Kingdom is considered as one of the leading nations constituted with a large variety of renewable energy sources. The UK is also considered as a major production house of offshore wind energy where more than 700 wind turbines have been already launched (Committee on Climate Chan ge, 2011). Based on this context, the paper will aim at identifying and discussing the various energy options currently available in the UK. The Main Energy Options in the UK Wind Energy In the year 2011, the UK installed wind power of about 5.7 gigawatts. The nation is considered as one of the leading producers of wind power all over the world. In the UK, wind power sources are continuously developing in terms of its production capacity, which is further expected to increase by more than 2 gigawatts in the next five years. To be specific, wind power is considered as the second largest source of energy within the UK. In the year 2010, the UK wind industry was reported to have already installed several types of on-shore as well as off-shore wind energy production turbines. For instance, medium-sized UK wind-energy production companies such as Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm, Robin Rigg Wind Farm and Thanet Off-shore Wind Farms among others have been deemed eligible for government g rants. It has further enhanced their financial capabilities to install advanced technologies in order to generate more than 1.1 gigawatts of electricity per day. It is worth mentioning in this context that the wind-energy producing farms in the UK distribute electric power primarily to the manufacturing industries. In the next five years, the government of the UK is expecting to obtain 960 gigawatts of electricity on a yearly basis from this energy source (DONG Energy Power, n.d.; E.ON UK plc, 2012; GL Group, 2010). Energy Obtainable Through Tidal-Waves Apart from the wind-energy sources, the UK also has the capability to produce electricity from ocean waves by utilising the tidal power. In February 2007, the UK had established its first wave farm which was categorised as one of the world’s leading producers of electric energy from tidal currents of the ocean. In the UK, on a yearly basis, it has been observed that this particular energy source can generate more than 3 megawa tts of electricity through its four different types of Pelamis machines. In the UK, ocean currents are used to produce energy principally in two regions i.e. England as