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Latest StoriesYou are in: BBC Newsline > Latest Stories > Earth, Wind and Fire  Earth, Wind and FireMike McKimm As the year comes to a close and we face high energy bills, BBC Newsline is considering how we might generate energy in the future Northern Ireland has practically no indigenous energy resources. A point brought home over the years as oil and gas prices fluctuate and in some cases supplies run low. Six percent of electricity supplies are now generated from wind turbines in the North. After that it is a struggle to harness other sizeable resources. Help playing audio/video And that is an increasing problem facing the the population as energy supplies become more sensitive to international political and economic pressures. Over the last few decades there has been no real energy strategy in Northern Ireland in terms of alternative power. And critics of the system will point to a lack of joined-up thinking and support. Northern Ireland is part of an island surrounded by very substantial wave and tidal power. So far only one private investment has brought electricity ashore from tidal energy. And not a solitary wave has been harnessed from a northern point of view. Yet the energy potential is huge and we are probably one of the best located islands in Europe to exploit this.  While wave technology is still in its genesis, the same can't be said for geothermal energy. Cities around the world already enjoy the perks of free heat from deep underground. It comes from water that has been heated by hot rocks more than a mile below the surface. Northern Ireland enjoys considerable geothermal potential but so far not a drop has been used to heat anything. Yet other cities are celebrating more than two decades of geothermal heat. It is a cheap and cheerful energy source. What is more it is clean and carbon free. Help playing audio/video The search goes on for gas and oil under the north of Antrim, so far without luck in terms of a commercial find. And Belfast Council has announced plans to exploit the methane gas that comes from its former landfill site at the edge of the city. The gas will be used to generate electricity.  But buried underground on the same site are hundred of thousands of tons of waste that won't degrade for centuries. In the rest of the UK and Europe waste that hasn't been, or can't be, recycled is burnt under controlled conditions to generate electricity. And many millions of homes across Europe are powered, and even heated, by waste. But so far it has received no public support in Northern Ireland. Instead we are still sending what waste is left after recycling to landfill. Help playing audio/video Help playing audio/video There is no single alternative to oil, gas or coal. And it will be a long time before we can replace these sources of energy completely. But until then, Northern Ireland will come under increasing pressure to embrace more alternatives and in more than a token way. The alternative to alternative energy will be high bills and sometimes no energy at all. Help playing audio/video last updated: 19/12/2008 at 19:39 Have Your SayDo you think more should be done to make Northern Ireland energy independent? Penny Delaney Norman Willis Tim Gray Hilda Park Stu ERIC MAYNE Tom Woolley SEE ALSOYou are in: BBC Newsline > Latest Stories > Earth, Wind and Fire
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