With the person sitting next to you, examine this image of a wind farm located in County Donegal. Why do you
think this was a suitable location in which to build a wind farm?
1. Draw and label a diagram explaining how wind energy is generated. 2. Name two advantages and two disadvantages of wind-generated electricity. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
3. Explain the environmental and economic benefits of wind energy for Ireland.
4. Imagine you live near the site for a proposed wind farm. Write a letter to your local council either in favour of or against the wind farm. Provide three reasons to support your view.
Geothermal Energy
Ireland may not be Iceland or Sicily. We have no volcanoes, nor do we experience regular seismic activity. However, that does not mean we cannot exploit the geothermal possibilities that lie beneath our soil to generate power and heat.
Shallow geothermal energy is a sustainable system of extracting renewable heat energy from the ground and using it to supply heat and domestic hot water. Geothermal energy in Ireland is still at an early development stage, but it does offer another viable source of renewable energy (as we saw in Chapter 1 when we examined Iceland and its use of geothermal energy).
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Fun Fact!
A number of buildings around the country are heated using shallow geothermal technology, including the Glucksman Gallery in Cork, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre in Clare and Ballyroan Library in South Dublin.
