The power generation industry, taken as a whole, is the world’s biggest industry and it has the largest impact of any industry on the environmental conditions on Earth. Some of the effects caused by power generation, particularly the ones associated with the combustion of fossil fuels, are far-reaching both geographically and temporally. However, all types of power generation will have some effect.
In the early days of the industry, environmental considerations were rarely taken into account when power stations were built. Economic considerations were the priority and an awareness of the dangers associated with power generation was slow to register. It was the effect of air pollution created by coal combustion on human health that provided one of the first warning signs. Early mitigating measures to combat this included the use of tall stacks to release power plant flue gases higher into the atmosphere.
A much greater awareness of the global environment, and of humankind’s impact on it, began to bloom during the 1970s. From the power industry’s point of view this was a turning point, too. Perhaps it was simply a matter of the size of the global power sector by that time, but since then the history of the industry has been punctuated by graphic illustrations of the problems it can produce. The damaging effects of acid rain were recognized during the 1980s. A nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986 illustrated the dangers of nuclear power. During the 1980s and 1990s there were critical reviews of a range of large hydro- power plants that eventually prompted a change in the way such schemes were evaluated. Then, during the 1990s, the dangers of global warming were recognized and the burning of fossil fuels was identified as one of the probable causes.
In the 21st century, environmental considerations are shaping the way in which the industry is evolving. The emissions from fossil fuel power plants are being radically reduced, and although this does not yet include carbon diox- ide, it is being targeted for future removal. Alongside this, renewable energy is being promoted as a cleaner, more sustainable means of generating electricity. This, in turn, is changing the way electricity networks operate.
These changes will continue throughout the century so that by the end of the century the electricity-supply industry may well be unrecognizable to somebody used to the configuration today. But these changes, too, will have environmental consequences. Already there are signs of what is to come with many more wind farms and large area solar power plants found both in the land- scape and offshore. Such changes will inevitably lead to new problems. An industry as significant as power generation cannot avoid being in conflict, at one level or another, with the global environment.