Biomass and Wave Energy

Plant Waste and Animal Poo

Biomass is just organic stuff that we can burn to create electricity, such as farm waste, animal poo, general rubbish, etc.

In short, this stuff is burnt, which drives turbines, and subsequently produces electricity

  • Biomass can also be fermented, which enables the biomass to be transformed into other fuels, such as biogas or ethanol

The good thing about biomass is that it has a neutral effect on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - for example, the plants that grew to produce the biomass took in carbon dioxide to grow, and this is released again once it is burnt

It is quite cheap to use biomass and allows us to use waste to generate electricity. However, if the waste isn't sorted properly, burning the biomass could result in bad gasses being released, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide

Wave Power

Wave power and tidal power are different, so don't confuse them

With wave power, you need generators located around the coast, that can utilise the up and down movement of the waves, and transfer that into energy

There is no pollution with wave power generators, but they are fairly ugly, can be dangerous for boats, and not that reliable either.

Tidal Barrage

A tidal barrage is just a big dam that can be constructed across a river's esturary. As the tide comes in, the water goes through the tidal barrage and turns a turbine., which subsequently generates electricity

Tidal barrages are good in that they produce no pollution and can be relied upon, but they can be negative for wildlife habitats and impede boats from going up and down the river.