climate change
So why does any of this matter? The general scientific consensus across the world is that global warming is taking place at an alarming rate, mostly as a result of burning fossil fuels.
Many climate change models currently being used predict that catastrophic events around the world are likely to increase in the foreseeable future if we are unable to limit the expected global temperature rises.
Climate change is going to have significant effects on our planet, our landscapes and our way of life. We therefore need to rethink our attitude to energy generation - and indeed to our countryside - and how it is used. Renewable technologies, like wind-power and biomass power generation, simply have to be part of a new mix - a new way of life for all of us.
Society therefore has a need to look for and use alternative environmentally friendly, economic and socially acceptable (sustainable) fuels. The Tansterne project is one of these options:
- it is in the middle of a biomass fuel source and therefore economic;
- straw is an excellent fuel;
- it is located right on a connection to the electricity distribution network;
- it is much smaller and less visually intrusive than equivalent wind turbines;
- it will supply electricity to local residents, farmers, industry and commerce;
- it does not have the same issues as wind turbines, in terms of them being dependent on the wind strength for generating electricity;
- it has the potential to balance reduced electricity generation from wind turbines when the wind is not blowing so strongly.