Augmenting the Level of Production of Renewable Energy within the UK - Coursework Example

Abstract This particular report intends to analyze the proposal proposed by Committee on Climate Change to the Department of Energy and Climate Change of the UK with regard to their approach of augmenting the level of production of renewable energy within the nation. Likewise, the report has been segregated under different sections with each of them providing a succinct overview the proposal. Executive Summary This particular report is intended to present an analysis on a proposal framed by Committee on Climate Change regarding the Severn Tidal Power project initiated by the UK government. The report discusses about the various prospects and policies of the project along with its implication upon the stakeholders specifically the natural environment. Notably, the approach of the Department of Energy and Climate Change to initiate the Severn Tidal Power can be regarded as a positive attempt to ensure a better and sustainable position for the energy sector of the nation. It also attempts to depict the positive impact the project can have on the future generations in terms of environment sustainability and abundance of natural power and resources. However, analysis suggested that the approach might cause severe negative implication upon the natural environment and habitat that can further endanger the lives of the aquatic animals. Contextually, several key recommendations have been made to mitigate the same in the long run. Terms of Reference In the present day context, the climate change has become one of the sever issues in the global environment and likewise authorities of each and every nation are emerging with approaches to deal with this particular environmental concern one-way or the other. There are numerous approaches that can be adopted to deal with the contemporary environmental issue. One such approach is the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases to the natural environment. Contextually, this particular report will provide a brief overview of the approaches of the UK government to mitigate the environmental problems prevalent within the nation. The Committee on Climate Change has emphasized the production of renewable energy so that negative impact towards the environment could be mitigated. Likewise, this report will focus on providing a critical assessment of the proposal of the Department of Energy and Climate Change of UK to comprehend its probable effectiveness in a comprehensive manner (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Scale The proposal of the Department of Energy and Climate Change in UK has mentioned that by the year 2030, the electricity sector of the nation would be de-carbonized. Contextually, report will focus on providing an elaborate discussion on the present day status of the proposal presented by the committee. The report will analyze each and every aspects of the climate control committee and likewise a critical assessment will be conducted on the same to get a comprehensive understanding. In order to support and justify the critical assessment, secondary resources will be taken into consideration. The report will be completed following a systematic approach where detailed recommendations will also be presented about the implementation of the proposed plan (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Scope This particular report will be able to provide an elaborative understanding about the positive and negative aspects of the proposal of the Department of Energy and Climate Change in UK towards increasing the production of renewable energy within the nation. The report will collect and present data mostly from the proposal, but in a brief and succinct manner. However, lack of presence of primary data for this particular report might be regarded as a potential limitation (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Summary of Recommendations Several recommendations have been made within the proposal through analyzing some of the negative aspects of the plans of the project of Severn tidal scheme upon the external environment. Correspondingly, recommendations regarding environmental assessment and proper monitoring of the implementation plan would be regarded as crucial. Environmental assessment will enable Department of Energy and Climate Change to understand about the impacts of the proposal of renewable energy production on the environment while proper monitoring will ensure that the plans are executed accordingly (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Description of Present State This section of this particular report will primarily highlight the present status of the facts of the proposal along with depicting the ideas that have been proposed in the proposal of the committee. It is vital to comprehend that climate change and its impact on the natural environment has been among the prime concern for the people living within the present day society throughout the world. Contextually, the proposed policies of the department of Climate change would be vital to consider. Renewable Energy Strategy has been proposed by the Committee on Climate Change with regard to contemplate the environmental issues of the nations in the most favourable manner with utmost cost effectiveness and reliability. As per the proposal of Committee on Climate Change in UK, the country by the year, 2020 will seek to meet 15% of its total energy consumptions with the use of renewable energy and power. The proposed policies of the concerned departments has also been focused on building a particular framework that can eliminate all the hindrance towards meeting the goal of abundant renewable energy production. As per the understanding gained from the proposal of the Committee on Climate Change, it can also be determined that there are numerous means through which the approach of de-carbonizing the electronic sector of the nation can achieve. This can be done primarily through the reduction of the demand and the use of energy with high carbon in the present day context. The proposal further stated that in order to eliminate the risk of harmful chemical on the environment, the use of harmful gases or chemicals should be replaced by the use of nuclear and renewable power (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Contextually, Severn Tidal scheme has been proposed by the concerned authorities, which is expected to enable the country to get the desirable amount of renewable energy production in the future context. Severn Estuary is one of the longest rivers in the United Kingdom where the tidal power opportunities are quite high. In this regard, the proposal stated that there is a possibility of constructing Severn Barrage within the river owing to the presence of abundant natural resources in it. In order to analyze the feasibility of their decision, the concerned authorities have proposed a two-year study that presents the potential cost and impact of the project to the people and the natural environment within the river. The assessment of the climate control committee in the UK has affirmed that the Severn Tidal Power is comparatively expensive when analyzing the same on grounds of the cost of other past projects. The proposal has also suggested that Severn tidal power project is not directly related with the production of abundant renewable energy and hence its benefits can only be seen in the long run. These aspects might hinder the implementation of the plan in the practical scenario (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Analysis of Proposals The proposal of the Severn Tidal Power phase has been proposed with the intention to protect environment. The proposal includes projects such as Shoots Barrage over the Severn road crossings, Fleming Lagoon in Between “Newport & Severn road crossings” and Bridgwater Bay Lagoon among others. The construction cost along with the probable Co2 emission savings from each of the projects under the proposal of Severn tidal power is presented in the table hereunder (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Fig 1 Among the various projects, the Cardiff-Weston barrage has some facets that are exceptional from others since its constructional rights has been provide to both the private and public sector. As per the proposal of the Committee on Climate Change the Cardiff-Weston barrage project will be most beneficial towards attaining the environment goals of the country. This is because of the fact that its impact upon the environment is expected to be positive and it will compensate towards enhancing the production of renewable energy in the nation. Most of the schemes under the Severn Tidal Power will be executed on the basis of the hydroelectric technologies that were traditionally followed in the past. The proposal excluded many of the schemes that hinder the attainment of cost efficacy within the entire project. While carrying out the feasibility study, many of the projects under the Severn Tidal Power were not developed efficiently, which has further encouraged Committee on Climate Change to exclude the same from the final proposal. The feasibility of the proposal of the Committee on Climate Change can be affirmed from the fact that the support of the government towards such energy development projects is quite considerable and implementation of the plans in the practical scenario can act as a smooth process altogether. There are certain potential benefits of the project that has been widely determined from the feasibility study of the proposal. Notably, the project is regarded to have the potential to ensure proper flow of tidal power capable of generating renewable energy. Among the various natural resources of the UK that has tidal power potential, the Severn is deemed to have utmost potential as compared to other sources in the region. The table below provides a better comprehension of the same. This aspect can be regarded an advantage of considering the Severn tidal while formulating the proposal. This particular assumption can further be justified from the facts presented in the discussion of the feasibility report of the proposal. Notably, out of the total tidal power resources that prevail in the UK, more than 90% emerge from the region of Severn Estuary, which meets 5% of the electricity needs of the country. This shows that the project of Severn Estuary has high potential to meet the energy needs of the country through the adoption of proper measures (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Fig 2 The Severn barrage scheme under the Severn Tidal Power project is expected to contribute positively towards attaining a sustainable environmental condition. It is also expected to contribute positively in dealing with the climate change for the concerned authorities in the UK. However, the feasibility study has also depicted that minimum intervention of the government in such projects will certainly have positive impact on the overall completion and execution of the plans. The Severn Tidal Power would ensure certain probable benefits for the Department of Climate Change in the UK, which can further enhance the scope of the project. Notably, the scheme is expected to ensure long-term access to renewable energy in abundance. Subsequently, different schemes associated with the project including the construction of barrage and other infrastructure would certainly result in generation of power from natural resources to a larger extent. These aspects can further affirm the effectiveness of the plans and proposals. It is expected that the project will have severe impact on the people and the society altogether along with the natural environment. Its impact upon the environment can be in the form of its influence upon the protected habitats and species. This can be justified from the fact that the proposal has apparently mentioned that fish and other aquatic animals within the Severn Estuary is expected to diminish in large number owing to the fact that with the construction of the barrage, fish and some other aquatic animals will not get access to the river, which will endanger their lives. This can be a point of criticism that can work against the entire project. Lives of birds in the surrounding area will also be endangered by the destruction in the intertidal habitat, which can get impacted from the execution of the plans of the Severn Tidal Power. These aspects can act against the applicability of the scheme in a wider extent (Crown, 2010). Other than that, the impacts on the water quality of the area along with the risks of flood from the initiation of the Severn Tidal Power can also be regarded as negative (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Owing to these factors, the proposal and its components can be criticized for practical application to an extent. This can be supported from the fact that with the aim of enhancing the quality and sustainability of a particular sector, the concerned authorities could not negatively affect the natural environment and habitat. Detailed Recommendations From the analysis of each and every aspect of the proposal, it can be determined that the schemes associated with the Severn Tidal Power projects is quite significant for the natural and renewable energy sector of the UK, but at the same it will have noteworthy effect on the natural surrounding and habitat of the Severn Estuary. Contextually, certain recommendation has also been made by the sustainable development commission to ensure that the identified problems in the proposal and its schemes could be mitigated. As per the committee, the concerned authorities in the UK have to determine the potential capabilities of other regions of UK that can provide similar kind of natural resources like that of Severn Estuary. This will ensure diversification in the approach of the Committee on Climate Change in UK. Strategic environmental assessment has also been recommended as one of the approach that can be adopted by the policy makers to deal with the increasing environmental issues associated with the practical implementation of the proposal. Notably, this particular assessment will enable the concerned authorities to emerge with ideas of how their approach might affect the natural environment in a negative manner. This might also be regarded as an approach to predict the future environmental effect of the implementation of the proposal i.e. Severn Tidal Power. It has also been recommended that the implementation of the policy must be in alignment with the environmental norms of the UK (Baker, 1991). The magnitude of the impact of the policies of the proposal on the nature and the environment must be apparently comprehended so that a proper balance between the well-being of the society and the natural environment could be ensured (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). This aspect might enhance the robustness of the proposal and its components for practical applicability. Proper monitoring of the process of implementation of the plans is also vital aspects that have been presented as a recommendation for further research upon the topic. Specifications The above section of the report primarily highlights the recommended approaches that could be used by the Committee on Climate Change to deal with the potential negative effect of their proposal upon the environment. This recommendation could be implemented through adoption of measures such as revising the components of the proposal as per the recommendations made, conducting survey to comprehend the perception of the people, and monitoring each and every approach of the process of executing the proposal and plans of Severn Tidal Power project. Through conducting survey, the concerned department would be able to gain a better insight about the expectation of the people and about the project as well as their views on its negative impact on the environment of the surrounding area of Severn Estuary. This will enable the concerned authorities to make prompt rectification upon the proposal and emerge with the subsequent steps accordingly (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009). Furthermore, proper supervision will also be an important approach to ensure that the plans are implemented and executed accordingly while ensuring utmost efficacy. Closing Paragraph From the overall analysis, several key factors can be concluded with the regard to the proposal. Notably, analysis suggests that the project of Severn Tidal Power will be an extensively beneficial aspect for the energy sector of the UK in the future context. It might work towards augmenting the level of renewable energy in the country in the coming years, which is again a positive approach to provide a sustainable environment to the next generation. Although, the proposal has certain aspects that might work against the sustainability of the environment, but its long term benefits for both the environment and the society could not be overlooked at the same time. References Baker, A. C. (1991). Tidal power. US: IET. Crown. (2010). Severn tidal power feasibility study. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/51172/12._Habitat_Regulations_Assessment_-_Screening_-_NTS.pdf Department of Energy and Climate Change. (2009). Severn tidal power. Phase One Consultation, 1-236. Read More