Trusted Solar Panel Installers in Plymouth

Energy derived from natural processes (e.g. sunlight and wind) that are replenished at a faster rate than they are consumed. Solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, and some forms of biomass are common sources of renewable energy.

Global wind power capacity was 238 Gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2011, up from just 18 GW at the end of 2000, with an average growth rate of over 25% over the past five years.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) directly converts solar energy into electricity using a PV cell; this is a semiconductor device. The global total of solar PV was roughly 67 GW at the end of 2011, to be compared with just 1.5 GW in 2000. Over the past five years, solar PV has averaged an annual growth rate of over 50%. Growth has been mostly concentrated in a few countries, where PV generates today a few percent of total yearly electricity production.

Variable renewables include wind, solar, wave and tidal energy, and are based on sources that fluctuate during the course of any given day or season. Variability is not new to power systems, which must constantly balance the supply and variable demand for electricity, and face all kind of contingencies. However, large shares of variable renewables supply may increase pressure on power systems, which may need increased flexibility to respond to this balancing issue. More flexible generating capacities (e.g. gas and hydro power plants), interconnections, storage (e.g. with pumped-hydro plants), and/or load-management empowered by smart grids, can be combined to provide the required flexibility