Energy is all around us, literally everywhere, and as humans, without energy we would not exist. We use energy every day in our homes, cars, cellphones, within our bodies, and many other uses. As our world population continues to grow we need more energy. The problem is that most of our energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil Fuels are very limited in quantity and greatly pollutes the environment around us. Therefore, we have found several clean solutions to provide energy to fit our needs and provide sustainability to the environment. But this new renewable energy only makes up about 10% of all our energy sources. Why doesn’t all of our energy come from this cleaner method? I am going to describe the pros and cons of the three main forms of renewable energy sources we use today which includes Solar Power, Wind Turbines, and Hydroelectricity.
Solar Power is energy harnessed from the sun that is transformed into electrical energy. Using solar panels is very sustainable because the panels use sunlight to generate energy. Sunlight is very abundant in that the sun is not going to run out for millions and millions of years. Solar panels are very environmentally friendly and can reduce overall electrical expense in houses, office buildings, stadiums and automobiles. It is rather common today that occasionally, you may see a house with solar panels on its roof instead of shingles. This is a great way to save money and eventually get free electricity until the unit is paid off. But that is the problem, it takes about 20 years before solar panels pays for itself and many people do not plan on living in the same house their entire life. Many people in the United States move every 5-10 years making the investment not very beneficial or practical. Another problem with solar energy is that it’s very intermittent. Access to sunlight is limited to day time and very dependent on the weather, when the solar panel is producing electricity it must be stored in a battery which is also very expensive. Additionally, solar panels require a lot of energy up front to make the solar panels. This process of engineering solar panels involves several hazardous chemicals that can harm the environment. Solar power is not perfect although it does produce both positives and negatives.
The next form of renewable energy is wind power which is generated when a wind turbine is spun. Wind power is a very simple way to produce electricity and is very clean reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. The cost of wind turbines is relatively cheap compared to other renewable energy sources and continues to decrease. After the wind turbine produces so much energy it pays for itself and supplies free clean energy. Most of the wind turbine farms are found in the Midwest areas of the United States such as Iowa and South Dakota where more that 30% of their energy comes from wind power. This is all great however for a wind turbine to produce energy it needs wind. The wind is very unpredictable and inconsistent. It also takes up a lot of land and is expensive compared to burning cheap fuels. Wind turbines also impact humans and wildlife as they are very noisy at times and cause fatalities to birds and other animals such as bats.
Hydroelectric power is energy generated by converting free flowing water into electricity. The flowing water spins a turbine that generates the electricity. Like wind turbines and solar panels, hydroelectricity does not create any carbon dioxide and is a clean source of energy. Hydroelectric power is also very reliable because as long as there’s running water its generating electricity. The only times that hydroelectricity may struggle is during a drought, common in California, Nevada and desert areas. Most hydroelectric power plants are dams causing several environmental consequences. The damming of water changes the aquatic ecosystem and surrounding land scape. Sometimes damming an entire valley destroying the homes of wildlife. Building a hydroelectric power plant is very expensive and there is only a limited number of reservoirs that can be used. For example, the Three Gorges Dam, located in China, is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. It has the generating capacity of 22,500 megawatts and is a great replacement for coal. But it has affected the surrounding environmental displacing 1.3 million people, flooding 244 square miles of land, destroying ecosystems, and reducing down stream sediment.
In conclusion wind, solar, and hydroelectric power are all great examples of renewable energy sources that produce a large amount of clean energy that do not emit greenhouse gasses. Yes, these renewable energy sources have some environmental impacts on the environment but have a much lesser impact than the fossil fuels that are sucked from this earth and burned into our atmosphere. These renewable energy sources might not be the most perfect forms of renewable energy but they are a good start. It is important that we continue to innovate and strive to develop cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient sources of energy.
Cam, this was really interesting because I did not even know or think of any of the negatives you mentioned. Interestingly enough I have solar panels on my house and have never even realized there may be some chemical harms from them. I believe solar panels are an extremely efficient and reliable option as the sun is always out throughout the year, but knowing there are chemical issues forces me to be more cautious about that. For the wind turbines I knew about bird issues but I never even thought of all the space they take up. However, to defend them I would say no one is really taking up that space anyways. When talking about dams, I never knew that they can cause major floods and ruin ecosystems. It seems realistic as you are holding massive amounts of water and then releasing it. And wow, that gorges damn is huge! Finally, what is really interesting about the energy debate is that many people claim it takes away jobs. In the recent election, President Trump argued for coal as it would bring many jobs back into the economy. Whether that is true or not is up for debate but it is always a present topic. Also people will continue to bash on new energy as it is expensive and even may deny climate change. However, overall I feel clean energy is 100% the way to go. Even though there are issues, the pros outweigh the cons when it comes down to it.
Renewable resources are a great idea in concept and are very beneficial to the environment but the costs and requirements to use such equipment often leaves you thinking how it is not worth it. The amount of energy generated in such forms is created at only a small fraction of the rate that non renewable resources can create. At the moment it is not practical to try to completely change the landscape of the whole word by eliminating non renewable resources and becoming dependent on sources of energy such as solar and wind energy. These sources are somewhat unreliable due to their dependence on on factors such as weather and environment but also in the stages they are in today, are incredibly expensive and people would not be able to afford these sources for their home and would not be able to afford the increased taxes if the government tried to implement them on a national/public energy platform. There is no doubt that these sources of renewable energy are the future and we observe tremendous strides in the field each and every year and someday they will be able to cut costs to make these and find the most efficient ways to farm renewable energy and become entirely dependent on it.
After a semester of EGEE which has its basis in energy and the way we use it, I realized many of the alternative energy sources also have their own downfalls like how you described Solar with its long payback period. That is important to consider, yet the alternatives with fossil fuels is sometimes worse, yet its impact is not as readily felt. We can all understand the expense of solar pannels, yet not really the effects of global warming and such.