Have you thought much about your future? What will you do when you leave school, where you will live, what your house might look like?
The potential impacts of climate change are starting to change people's view of what our world might look like and what we need to do to ensure a sustainable future. Finding clean and sustainable ways of making electricity is a very important part of our future.
Electricity is a secondary energy source. That means it is converted from other energy sources like coal, natural gas and oil, and increasingly other sources such as the sun and wind.
These sources are usually divided into two groups
Sources that can be replenished in a short period of time. Renewable energy sources include solar energy, which comes from the sun and can be turned into electricity and heat. Wind, geothermal energy from inside the earth, biomass from plants, and hydropower and ocean energy from water are also renewable energy sources.
Sources that we are using up and cannot create in a short period of time At the moment we get most of our energy from non renewable energy sources, which include the fossil fuels - oil, natural gas and coal. Another non renewable energy source is uranium whose atoms we split (through a process called nuclear fission) to create heat and ultimately electricity.
Renewing the MixWestern Australians have been using renewable energy for a very long time. Can you think how? Burning wood for heat, use of windmills and hydropower has been part of our energy mix for decades.
In 2007/2008 3.8% of the energy used in Western Australia came from renewable resources with more than half of this coming from two major wind farms. This still leaves a very large percentage coming from non renewable sources mainly natural gas and coal but renewable solutions are growing.
The WA government has committed to a 20% target for renewable energy by 2020. Some sustainable energy projects in WA include:
Western Power actively supports the connection of small scale renewable energy systems such as solar, wind and micro hydro systems to our network. To do this our network will need to become more flexible so we are investing in "Smart Grid" technology. Smart grids will help us and you measure and better manage the energy being supplied to your house and the energy being produced by your house if you have renewable systems such as solar panels on your roof.
There are a number of programs available to help your school connect to renewable energy. Follow the links to find out more.
You can also elect to change to electricity made from renewable energy sources by contacting your energy retailer.
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Page update on 6 October 2009
