That cost can be divided into two parts that vary with each type of technology, be it wind, solar or marine. On one side are the carbon emissions that produce the material and components to build their facilities. On the other hand is their impact on the environment and ecosystems where they are located and the clean energy..
"At the moment there is no technology that does not pollute anything, in all cases you need material that produces carbon emissions, so there will always be an environmental cost," he told BBC News Jeff Hardy, director of knowledge transfer Energy Research Centre in the United Kingdom (UK Energy Research Centre, UKERC).A recent study by the University of La Rioja, Spain, analyzed the impact of a turbine type, the 2 MW Gamesa G8X, one of the most widely used in many existing wind farms in Spain on the mainland.
He discovered that the time it takes to amortize the environmental cost occurs exactly to 153 days, ie, a few months after beginning a life that usually extends for 20 years.
The true of the clean energy
"We looked at basically all stages of life cycle, from which material is removed from the tower is built, installed, throughout its operation and until the past 20 years are going to dismantle that tower and recycle the steel and other non-recyclable materials, "he told BBC Eduardo Martinez House, author of the study of La Rioja and responsible for Research and Development in the Wind Group Riojanas.
Not bad when compared with solar panels which produce about 16 times the energy required to mount in very sunny places such as Seville, southern Spain, or 12 times if they are located on the rooftops of Edinburgh used to gray, in Scotland, according to figures from a report by the International Energy Agency and the European Photovoltaic Technology Platformand the clean energy...
In the case of wind turbines that marine parks are in the environmental cost would be higher, as are larger those of Thanet -115 meters-and this leads to greater difficulty of transportation and installation. At sea, also uses a firmer foundation and materials are covered with more chemicals to prevent corrosion of the sea.
But even with all marine energy would be more profitable from the environmental point of view than solar. This appears as a less clean renewable energy "probably because the materials used and the clean energy.., are used very expensive and rare metals such as tellurium or other exotic materials and have to look far to find the mines. Also many more chemicals are used and more environmental risk, "said Hardy.
Minor impact
But in any case we must put things in perspective. The turbines also have their environmental impact, but it can be 89% or 99% lower, depending on the case, the derivative to produce the same energy through conventional power generation plants and the clean energy..."Its impact is much less than any other technology can have both renewable and conventional power plants generating electricity. This is because lifetime of wind turbines do not consume any fuel and therefore reduce emissions enough," says Martinez House.
"Once the unit is in operation only if the environmental costs would replace some of the blades," he adds.
Ecosystem and the clean energy
What does it depend? Well, as always usual in such cases there is no single answer. Each offshore wind farm will have an effect in terms of their characteristics and situation and the clean energy...That's why every company is obliged by law to conduct an environmental impact assessment will have their facilities.However, although there are case studies and the first wind farms installed in countries such as Germany, Denmark and the UK have more than ten years ago, the scientific research conducted to date have focused on knowing the true impact on ecosystems if the change or transformation, for better or for worse, and the socioeconomic impact for the region in which they are situated and the clean energy..."The offshore wind industry is making progress in understanding the impact of developments in marine biodiversity. Yet there is an increasingly urgent need to better understand the socio-economic costs and benefits to other users of the sea, like fishermen, who may result from the development of farms producing energy, something that we are working, "he told BBC Anne Linley, the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK and the clean energy...
FIGURES
* In the UK power plants are largely responsible for carbon emissions and produce 170 million tons of CO2 each year.
* A single modern wind turbine could save about 4,000 tonnes of CO2 according to figures from the British Wind Energy Association.
* It is estimated that the average size wind farm will have paid the toll of environmental cost between 3 and 5 months after its entry into operation.
* There are 250 wind farms in the UK.
* 13 of them are marine parks
* A total of 2009 wind turbines operating with 1341 megawatts of installed capacity.
DISADVANTAGES OF RENEWABLE
* The intermittent nature is the biggest problem is not always wind, solar or wave form.
* By the time you can not store the energy produced at peak times of wind or large hydro-power or solar energy.
* Type conversion issues of electricity to the power supply.
* High price because that is under development and not yet mass marketed.
* Some say that the facilities are aesthetically beautiful
