h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Coal and oil based power stations cause lots of pollution.

Nuclear power has issues surrounding waste disposal and catastrophic failure.

Hydroelectric dams irrecoverably alter the ecosystems previously reliant on the rivers they block.

Even the oft-lauded solar and wind power have issues that potentially offset the supposed good they do.

So the question is, are there any ways of generation electricity that are sustainable, scientifically viable and don't destry the environment?

Not in the quantities we consume.

I hate the word sustainable. it's one of these Buzzwords like outside the box etc. one of those words that should be on those Bulls**t bing sheets you play at boring meetings.

Sustainable means able to be maintained in my book. All this "Green" thinking is just a lot of crap aimed at revenue generation. we get clients wanting green buildings until you tell them that their budget needs to be 50% bigger to pay for it.

"Sustainable means able to be maintained in my book."

Forgive my naivity... I wasn't aware that it was being used to mean anything else...

I mean, what is a sustainable energy source if not an energy source that is able to be maintained? Unless you think 'maintain' only means 'repair'.

yep, nuclear fusion
Unfortunately we're not terribly good at it. So whilst it is viable it is not yet practical.
But we're getting there, slow but sure.

Wind power is pretty good, as it is silent, emission-free and doesn't harm the environment. Unfortunately, you can't run an electricity system on only wind-power, as electricity grids need a form of generation that can match the demand. Wind power can't vary to match the demand, but instead produces a variable output based on the wind speed.

It is estimated that at most 10% of the grid can be comfortably be powered by wind.

"Wind power is pretty good, as it is silent"

Never stood near an operating wind turbine, then? Possibly it was just the ones I've been near, but they're far from silent...

Fusion is the future. It's kept the sun going for about 11 billion years, should see us out if we can ever get it under control. Safe, clean, (relatively) cheap when we get it working, and more raw fuel than you can shake a stick at - seawater won't be in short supply for a while...

I've stood directly below the blades of a wind turbine and there was no noise. I could hear the wind in the grass at my feet, but nothing from the turbine.

Giant sterling engines driven by heat from solar rays focused by large mirrors.

Although fusion keeps the sun going, that's slightly misleading. There are two types of fusion.

The first sort is fusion using heavy hydrogen, which can be extracted in tiny but usable quantities from sea water. This sort we currently don't know how to do here on Earth.

The other sort is the fusion using normal hydrogen, the type that drives the sun. This sort we really don't know how to do here on Earth.

Stirling engine, please.

I don´t have a problem with the word sustainable. Certainly a lot better than the word ecological. Sustainable development is something that can, as you said, be sustained. Whereas with a lot of stuff, we´re really sawing off the branch we´re sitting on. Wind and wave power is sustainable, in that the wind and waves are not going to stop at some point. Whereas with oil, we may run out soon.

Wind turbines are a get-rich-quick scam for the wealthy.

From the House Journal -

"...the government's and other agencies' promotion of wind turbines came about because of lobbying by industrialists, and not because of straightforward science or economics. Wind turbines are designed to last about 25 years, after which they must be dismantled. Within that time they will be profitable for the industry and investors only because of renewables obligation certificates (ROCs), which are part of a system that obliges electricity supply companies to progressively source more of their energy from "renewables". This means turbine investors can "earn" up to twice as much from selling ROCs as from selling electricity. We pay for both through our increased electricity bills..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/10/wind-farms-cprw-renewable-energy

We do know how to do fusion a bit... the trick we've not figured out is (a) containing it and (b) making it keep going...

So far we've managed things that look like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_oueK1OQYA

And you don't want a power station that looks like that....

The wind turbine I stood next to was incredibly noisy.

There are fors and againsts for all forms of power generation, it would be simpler to encourage people to consume less than try to find a 'green' form of energy that would work for everyone, everywhere.

Still, a stirling engine runs on heat difference. Where in the world can´t you find that?

Temperature difference would be a better term I suppose.

"Still, a stirling engine runs on heat difference. Where in the world can´t you find that?"

Glasgow?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7377641/Noise-complaints-about-one-in-six-wind-farms.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13807127

http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb-13584-windfarm-noise-statutory-nuisance.pdf

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-473878/Wind-farm-noise-minor-issue-says-official-report.html

The last one is interesting.

In any case, it seems clear that the majority of wind turbines are not silent, although they're not necessarily as irritating or complaint-worthy as some other sources of noise, and don't affect as many people. To which I say - duh. They're in the middle of nowhere on the tops of hills as a rule, how many people would you think would complain about the noise compared to say a train?

Most likely for the UK is wave and tidal power. Not those great big barrages that have been proposed for the severn estuary but more like stuff being proposed to be tested in the Orkney marine energy centre.

A couple of ideas that are being developed in the UK
http://www.aquamarinepower.com/
http://www.pelamiswave.com/