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Showing posts from April, 2009

SPINNING THE NATIONAL GRID

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I don’t remember much from my physics lessons at school but one concept did take root in my imagination: the idea that energy input equals energy output. According to the First Law of Thermodynamics , energy cannot be created or destroyed, simply transformed from one type …to another“. So far, so Einstein. Every movement and sound that we make, is generated by energy which has to go somewhere. So the kinetic energy from cycling downhill for instance, translates itself into heat and sound energy - through friction - when the brakes are applied to the wheel rims to slow the bike down. When you look at the world in terms of energy being all around us, all the time, it’s quickly apparent that our society, which would grind to an apocalyptic halt without electricity, is wasting this supply of abundant everyday power. The Government has signed up to a binding EU commitment which pledges that 20% of Europe’s energy by 2020 will come from renewable sources. The Department for Business Enterpr