Risk Management on Solar Thermal vs Solar Photovoltaic System - Dissertation Example

Even though the use of renewable energy resources has been increasing, there is still a long way for the UK government to reach its goal of generating 30% of its electricity from renewable resources aside from decreasing its carbon dioxide emission by 40% by the year 2020 (Department of Energy & Climate Change, 2011). (See Appendix I – Historical Trend of Electricity Generated by Renewable Resources in the UK on page 22)

            It is universal knowledge that the burning of oil and natural gas could produce and emit excessive carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that could trigger global warming. To combat the global climate changes, the UK government decided to gradually shift from the use of non-renewable to renewable energy resources (Committee on Climate Change, 2010). Recently, the Committee on Climate Change announced that the Scottish Government will reduce carbon gas emission by 3.5% annually between2020 to 2050 (Committee on Climate Change, 2011). As a result of increasing the use of non-renewable energy resources, the annual emission of carbon dioxide throughout the United Kingdom decreased from 8.95 metric tons per capita in 1995 down to 8.6 metric tons per capita in 2007 (Federal Statistical Office Germany, 2010). (See Appendix II – CO2 Emission in the UK on page 23)

Renewable energy significantly contributes towards a low carbon economy and thereby, provides a secure supply of valuable energy. Numerous years of development and research in the field of the production of energy have introduced many renewable energy technologies however the progress of renewable energy has been constrained by the various perceptions of the risk associated with such technologies.

As of 2008, the United Kingdom has been increasingly dependent on the use of renewable energy resources. In line with this, 5.5% (approximately 4.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent) of the total electricity that was generated in the UK was produced from the use of renewable resources such as biofuels (76.19%), wind power (14.29%), and hydroelectricity (9.52%) (Office for National Statistics, 2011). Even though the use of renewable energy resources has been increasing, there is still a long way for the UK government to reach its goal of generating 30% of its electricity from renewable resources aside from decreasing its carbon dioxide emission by 40% by the year 2020 (Department of Energy & Climate Change, 2011). (See Appendix I – Historical Trend of Electricity Generated by Renewable Resources in the UK on page 22)