Will Our Greenbelt Land End Up Looking Like This?

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With the demand for housing forever on the increase there is constant pressure on the government to relax their hold on various greenbelt areas across the UK. This has been successfully avoided for a number of years but now it would seem that there is another demand on the horizon, which, in order to be met could make the destruction of some of our most prized countryside areas inevitable.

What am I talking about? – Green Energy!

In recent weeks we have seen the introduction of the new Energy Bill 2011. This outlines our strategy to meet the carbon reduction targets by 2050 that we have so dearly promised Brussels. You will notice by the media frenzy surrounding issues such as the Green Deal that the need to cut carbon emissions is now firmly on the Governments radar.

The need to cut carbon emissions or face heavy fines from Europe is forcing us as a nation to invest in green technology. There are plenty of carrots being dangled out there such as feed-in tariffs to entice consumers to purchase renewable energy systems such as solar power. But the fact is as the deadlines draw ever closer, more drastic action will have to be taken to ensure that these targets are met.

An example of such radical action could well include countrywide production of  renewable power plants such as Gemasolar situated in Andalusia, Spain.

How does a view of England's rolling hills look now?

This colossal 19.9MW plant generates enough electricity per year to power around 25,000 households in its local region. Developers have reportedly also figured out a way to provide continuous solar energy, even after sunset.  With an estimated CO2 reduction of more than 30,000 tonnes per year it’s not hard to imagine that with a few of these plants placed around the UK, emissions could be reduced towards target levels quite dramatically.

Granted we do not have the same levels of sun exposure compared to that of Spain, but when you consider that Photovoltaic panels work using daylight, the possibility of a system like this running in the UK could still be effective. This is backed up further still by the fact that for economic viability purposes and regional topography, solar energy is the most effective way of generating renewable energy.

So the question is what side of the fence do you sit on – green energy or greenbelt?