Answered: The top questions on renewable energy

Renewable energy sources offer an exciting solution to green electricity generation, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and minimising our environmental impact. With 80%1 of the British population concerned about climate change, people are seeking more information on renewable energy and what it means for them.

At Ripple, we want to help everyone understand renewable energy - how it might impact our energy bills and carbon footprint. We take a look at some of the most asked questions on renewable energy and provide some insight. This will put you in the best position to make informed choices when it comes to your electricity supply and consumption.

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy is power produced by natural resources. These resources are not depleted when they are being used. Unlike fossil fuels, such as coal, petrol and diesel, they will not run out. They also do not emit harmful greenhouse gases which are contributing to global warming and climate change.

There are five main types of renewable energy:

    • Wind power

    • Solar power

    • Geothermal power

    • Hydroelectric power

    • Biomass power

Is renewable energy more expensive?

Onshore wind and solar are the cheapest power sources in the UK. However, other factors impact the price that we pay for electricity.

The costs of fossil fuels and nuclear power depend mainly on:

    • the price of the fuel that they burn

    • the power plant’s operating costs

Renewable energy projects are different: their operating costs are low with the typical operating cost for solar parks and wind farms at around 2p/kWh. This is 6p/kWh less than the average of 8p/kWh wholesale electricity operating cost2. To add perspective, in 2022, the wholesale electricity price in the UK hit a new record of almost 17p/kWh3.

With renewable energy, you also don’t need to pay for the fuel such as wind and solar, as it’s free.

The main cost of renewable power is determined by the cost of the technology itself (the turbine parts and solar panels etc).

With the rapid development of green technology in the last ten years, the price of solar has declined by 89% and the cost of wind has declined by 70%. Wind and solar energy now have a lower ‘levelized costs of energy’ (LCOE) than gas, nuclear and coal. The LCOE answers the question: What would be the minimum price that customers would need to pay for the power plant to break even over its lifetime?4

As innovation continues and the scale of renewable energy project delivery increases, the price of this clean energy is predicted to decrease further.

What renewable energy does the UK use?

In 2022, the UK’s electricity generation mix was as follows5:

    • Wind power 26.8%

    • Biomass energy 5.2%

    • Solar power 4.4%

    • Hydropower 1.8%

    • Gas 38.5%

    • Nuclear 15.5%

    • Coal 1.5%

    • Imports 5.5%

    • Storage 0.9%

2020 was the first year in UK history that more electricity came from renewable energy than other sources. 43% of our power came from a mix of wind, solar, bioenergy and hydropower.

How does renewable energy take action against climate change?

Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil to generate electricity releases huge amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. For example, in 2019, we released 2.53 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere from burning oil alone6.

These greenhouse gases absorb heat and radiate it back to the earth’s surface, contributing to global warming.

Renewable energy sources offer an alternative to fossil fuels for generating electricity. Renewable energy sources are net zero, meaning their operation doesn’t add any more carbon emissions to the atmosphere. With less greenhouse gases being emitted from electricity generation, there is less heat radiation and therefore less increase in global warming.

Can clean energy replace fossil fuels?

Yes! However, more renewable energy projects will be needed to cope with the electricity demand, especially with the rise in electric vehicles. Renewable energy sources are intermittent, which means we will need a selection of projects that, together, provide stable generation throughout the year.

For example, wind farms tend to generate more electricity in the winter and solar panels tend to generate more electricity in the summer. With advances in technology and electricity storage, we will be able to generate cheaper, greener power year-round.

Through the delivery of more renewable energy projects, the UK can meet its net zero goals. Currently, ground-mounted solar panels take up just 0.1% of the land in the UK. Through increasing this to 0.3%, (around half the land currently being used for golf courses7), we can add significantly more green electricity to the grid and eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels.

The rollout of renewable energy projects across Britain has resulted in our zero-carbon power growing from less than 20% in 2020, to over 50% in 20228.

Ripple enables consumers to directly fund and own green electricity. But, there is still a long way to go to decarbonise the UK energy system.

How can I support renewable energy?

Renewable energy has a hugely beneficial impact on not just our planet, but our electricity bills too. So, what can we do to see an increase in clean energy generation?

    1. Own part of a renewable energy project. With Ripple, you can part-own a large scale solar park or wind farm. You’ll be directly contributing towards the generation of more green energy, with the money used from your upfront fee to build the renewable energy farm. Then, you’ll benefit from your own supply of cheap, green electricity from your own renewable energy source to power your home for the whole of the project’s lifetime.

    1. Choose a genuinely green electricity tariff. For a truly green tariff, choose a supplier that directly contracts with renewable energy generators and uses the money from their customers’ green tariffs to build new renewable energy sources like wind farms and solar parks.

    1. Install rooftop solar panels. If you have the budget and are living in a property where you can install solar panels on your rooftop, home solar is a great option. You’ll be able to use the power that’s generated directly from the panels on your roof to supply your home. Your home will be powered by your own, genuinely green energy, and you’ll be independent of energy market price hikes.

    1. Join a community energy project. Over 5000 community energy groups have started up in the UK in the past five years9. The different projects that these groups carry out include installing community-owned solar panels, jointly switching to renewable heat sources such as heat pumps or biomass boilers, or supporting the rollout of home energy efficiency measures such as insulation. These projects can help reduce the overall electricity demand and supply more green energy to the grid.

If you don’t already have your own source of genuine, green energy, or if you want to increase your ownership to make even more savings, you can join the reservation list for Ripple’s next project, click here to find out more.

References

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