Onshore Wind As Energy For The Future The United Kingdom has a huge untapped supply of cheap and sustainable energy that could make a big difference to how the country meets its energy demands. Europe is dedicated to reducing the effects of global warming and in the European Conference for Renewable Energy in Berlin in 2004 it was decided that by 2020, the continent would aim to be getting 20% of its energy from renewable sources. The options for enewable energy generation comes in all shapes and sizes, some of the most common including wind, solar, tidal, hydro,Ray Ban Clubmaster, geo thermal and biomass energy. By increasing the volume of renewable energy projects, the EU will be able to reduce carbon emissions as well as the consumption of and dependance on outside energy sources. Wind power has seen the biggest increase in both onshore and offshore developments and is currently the dominant renewable energy source in terms of investment. The United Kingdom has traditionally been reliant on coal, oil and gas supplies to provide the country with a continuous source of energy,Ray Ban 5688, but with the steady depletion of these supplies it has been necessary to find alternatives. In order to meet the EUs renewable energy targets, the UK invested £5.9 billion* in 2011 alone. The Governments UK renewable policy framework consists of the following three key components:Financial support for renewablesUnblocking barriers to deliveryDeveloping emerging technologies The renewables obligation was created and implemented to encourage the production of electricity throughout the United Kingdom, requiring electricity companies to source a percentage of their energy from renewable sources. In 2010 and 2011, this percentage was 11.1% and will increase to 15.4% by 2015/16. Through implementing this obligation, the amount of energy created from renewables rose from 2% to 7% in 2010. There have been many technological advances in wind energy in the UK, and these are particularly evident in wind measuring and wind power production. One notable advancement in the field of wind analysis has been the use of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) devices to measure and analyse the wind in order to assess the viability of proposed wind sites. Through the use of LIDAR wind devices energy consultants can measure various aspects of the wind, including speed and strength,Cheap Ray Ban 3025, and this data can then be used to determine the potential output of the proposed wind farm. By adding a LIDAR device to the blades of wind turbines it can be used to measure oncoming winds and to adjust blades to protect the turbines and to get the most power possible out of the wind.