Track 5

Track 5

Tutor: Good morning, Phil, Jackie. I hope your project is going well.

Phil: Morning, Mr. Jackson.

Jackie: Hi Mr. Jackson. Well, we’ve made a start on analyzing the different forms of renewable energy, but unfortunately, we don’t really agree on some points.

Tutor: OK, why don’t we talk about it?

Phil: Well, Jackie believes that all forms of renewable energy are beneficial economically, whereas I doubt that that’s true for all of them.

Tutor: Such as?

Phil: Such as wind, wave, and solar energy because they’re less reliable.

Tutor: That’s a valid point but I don’t think that’s a large enough factor to disregard it completely.

Jackie: Exactly, that’s what I said.

Phil: However. another drawback is that they’re generally very expensive to produce.

Tutor: Yes. you’re right. And that is a concern when evaluating their usefulness in future.

Jackie: I agree with you to a point, but it’s likely that the cost will come down. I read a report in the Journal of Environmental Science that estimates the cost would fall by twenty percent over the next ten years, which is significant, isn’t it?

Tutor: Absolutely, Jackie. But you need to think about how difficult it is to predict the future cost of non-traditional energy sources before you believe the report. Remember: in your project I want to see evidence of critical analysis. Make sure you’ve analyzed all the information rather than just acceptance the information that you agree with. Also, it’s very important that you demonstrate wide reading around the subject.

Jackie: I know, it’s just that I’m not convinced that it’s going to continue to be that expensive, especially if there’s a demand from consumers.

Phil: Well, what about if we analyze the costing process as part of our project?

Tutor: That’s an excellent idea, Phil. OK, so let’s imagine that we want to forecast the cost of producing solar energy. How could we do that, Jackie?

Jackie: Um, well, I think we’d have to start by working out how many hours of daylight there are in the UK per gar.

Phil: The Meteorological Office would have data on that.

Jackie: Then estimate the number of hours of sun to get a rough total.

Phil: And then I suppose we’d need to work out how much it would cost to supply the average home with solar power, and then extrapolate that to get a number for the whole country.

Tutor: Good, and don’t forget the price of power conversion stations — this will have a significant impact on overall expenditure. And there’s one more factor you haven’t taken into account yet, regarding the consumers.

Jackie: Um whether they would change from traditional to renewable energy?

Tutor: No, but think about what might make them change?

Jackie: Oh, yes. How much they would be willing to Day.

Tutor: Exactly. Well done.