Grid for Good: Energy Dilemmas

Have you ever dived into a dilemma? A dilemma’s like… a difficult choice. They can be tricky – a bit trickier than choosing what to have for breakfast or what film to watch online.

Imagine getting an invite to your best friend’s birthday party – but it’s on the same day as your Granny’s 80^th and there’s a big family dinner for THAT. It might be quite hard to choose which to go to – after all you don’t want to upset Gran – OR miss out on the party…

Sadly, there isn’t one right answer.

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That’s the thing about dilemmas – by choosing an option, there will be a benefit – but also something you don’t want.

Energy companies, like National Grid who transport energy across the UK, and others are attending a global climate change conference called COP26. And there’s some major dilemmas that politicians have to crunch as they try to make their countries take steps to stop the harmful impact of climate change.

One major conundrum is deciding what sources of energy we should be using.

You might think renewable all the way – and ditching fossil fuel and nuclear power…

Well, fossil fuels are RELIABLE and nuclear power can make carbon free and very cheap electricity. But you’re right in thinking that fossil fuels pollute and radioactive waste is dangerous and more complicated to look after.

On the other hand, wind and solar energy are clean and cheap to run. But it’s not always windy or sunny… and then what?

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Using the oceans to generate wave or tidal generators can produce a lot of energy, but they’re expensive to set up and can harm marine and other animal life.

Once again – there just ISN’T one right answer! There are lots of things to take into account and it will take time to find the right answers and develop new technology that can create a cleaner and greener world.

It helps when people set priorities – that means deciding what things you think are more important than others.

National Grid is closely involved with dilemmas relating to energy and climate change. Its job is to get the energy we use from its sources and carry it around the country to where it’s needed – our towns and cities, industrial areas and transport links.

National Grid has three key aims:

Energy needs to be clean – to protect the environment and reduce emissions to help tackle climate change.

The way energy is used needs to be fair – it’s got to be something everyone can make use of, not just people in a particular part of the country or who use electricity at particular times.

Energy must be affordable – without energy we can’t heat our homes or cook our food or travel the length and breadth of the country. It’s something we all need – however much money we have.

By keeping these three priorities as a compass, National Grid can navigate some of the difficult decisions around the way we reduce emissions and do their part to help stop the negative impact on the planet.

National Grid is a leading company that looks after the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas, connecting millions of people to the energy they use safely, reliably and efficiently.

And they would like to know your thoughts about how we generate, distribute and use energy. If you have any ideas or an energy question you’d like to know the answer to, then please fill out the form below.