Pros And Disadvantages Of Renewable Energy

There are many different types of renewable sources such as solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric power. Solar panels work by using sunlight and enhancing it into electricity which is then distributed. They work when the sunlight hits the anti-reflective coating of a solar panel which creates a charge with the delocalised electrons in specially treated semiconductor material. These were first created in 1954 by Bell Laboratories . Although it was very expensive at the time of discovery, over the years the price of manufacturing and installing the solar panels have decreased while the efficiency of the panels has also decreased meaning more energy can be produced at a faster rate. Another type of renewable energy which is very popular is wind energy produced by turbines. This produce energy by using the

The sun is the source of all life on Earth. In just one hour the sunlight hitting the earth’s surface provides enough energy to power the global economy for a full year (Brown, 2015). The sun will continue to burn for billions of years, making it an unquestionably reliable source for renewable energy. Modern-day photovoltaic (PV) solar cells rely on the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon where light is used to free electrons from a solid surface - usually silicon - to create electricity. PV panels are typically installed on homes and buildings, or in ground arrangements, sometimes called solar farms.

Built around energy infrastructure fueled by nonrenewable resources, the United States transformed from an agrarian society of rural landholders to a giant in the industrialized world. With this astonishing feat arose a multitude of cities, urbanizing America. From fossil fuels alone, Americans are provided with heating, transportation, and electricity. However, it will not be for another millennium until the organic matter subjected to immense heat and pressure becomes viable sources to power the world. As these nonrenewable resources are continued to be quickly consumed, it is imperative to consider alternative sources of energy, such as renewables, before American reverts back to Jefferson’s agrarian ideal with a society of farmers on small land units.

In recent years, the use of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels to generate electricity has become an important topic of discussion around the world. As there are numerous drawbacks to using fossil fuels, such as global warming and air pollution, some people suggest that it is high time considering generating electricity by renewable energy on a large scale. Renewable energy mainly includes sunlight, wind, tides, waves, biomass and geothermal heat. In 2012 and 2013, renewable energy contributed 22 percent to our global electricity generation (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, 2014) and this shows that renewable energy only provides a small part of electricity generation. In this essay, both the advantages and disadvantages of using renewable energy to generate electricity will be discussed. The essay will demonstrate that despite the disadvantages of using renewable energy, its development is an unavoidable trend because our

Although the United States has come a long way in the field of Renewable Energy, there are still major roadblocks in the way of a national shift to clean energy. Renewable energy made up only 12% of US energy production in 2016, while The three major fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—accounted for 78%, showing there is still a long way to go (eia.gov). This has been a particularly arduous year for environmentalist and renewable energy companies alike as there have been major political strides against clean energy. Bills, Executive Orders, and new laws have slowed the progress that Renewable Energy has been making in recent years.

In conclusion, Australia must move away from coal to renewable energies, in order to meet the renewable energy target to control the climate change and also to generate electricity more efficient. Despite the fact that closing coal power stations would be a significant disadvantage for Australia, as coal is one of the biggest potential that Australia has. However, renewable energies such as solar, wave and geothermal would bring their own advantages, such as cost, environmental benefits and the job opportunities, which are more necessary that using the coal potential. Therefore, the coal power stations must be closed immediately.

In Europe, around 300,000 houses are not interconnected to the main electricity grid (Lymberopoulos & Zoulias, 2008). These houses are located in remote areas such as islands and mountains. Currently, fossil fuel based generators do the electrification of these households. These generators are sometimes supplemented with renewable energy based systems (e.g. PV solar panels or wind turbines). The fossil fuel based generators face problems with onsite fuel availability, noise and local emissions. The renewable energy systems, on the other hand, face problems with the intermittency of the natural source, such as wind or sun. The disadvantages of both systems could be potentially overcome with the introduction of the artificial leaf technology

One reason wind and solar energy is the plausible choice is because it is a clean, renewable resource. Fossil fuels emit high levels of carbon gases, which rise into the atmosphere and are harmful. They also can expire and be completely used up making it an extreme problem for future endeavors. Wind and solar energy are free of these harmful fumes and gases making it safe to use. Not only is it safe to use, it has an infinite supply. The sources that wind and solar energy pull their power from will always have a suitable amount for living. Solar energy is produced by concentrated solar power from mirrors that reflect the sunlight to convert it to heat. Wind energy is produced by the wind rotating the blades on a turbine, and when the blades move it produces the energy needed for the generator to form electricity. They have zero emission of harmful chemicals and no waste to dispose of. The energy is constantly cycled into use for electricity or power. It cannot be stressed enough that these resources are infinite. They will always be around and susceptible for gathering. The reason this is so vital is because fossil fuels are becoming more and more scarce, to the point that it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain them deep within

Renewable resources are not immune to conflicts. Mansson (2015) sees that some potential conflicts could be local due to non centralized energy, i.e. a cloudy week for a city reliant on solar could be difficult if there isn’t any diversification. Diversification would solve this problem by having many sources of energy, hydropower from a dam, wind turbines, solar panels, and possibly a coal plant for backup. A possible issue is that being self reliant decreases our global presence (Mansson 2015). A solution to this would be producing and selling the technology.

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro, biomass and biofuels for transportation. Solar power is recently becoming more popular across the United

Renewable energy, what is it ? To put it simply, it’s a type of energy source that is eco-friendly and for the most part efficient. Fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, methane gas, and other harmful energy sources will only aggravate earth's health and will inevitably affect our biosphere and atmosphere, in which we humans reside. There is nothing inherently wrong with this issue but can seriously be spoken more and enforced upon society, for the sake of humanity. It will take centuries before we can consider colonizing other planets and have humans living on them. We are unfortunately not there yet technologically speaking. All we can do is prolong earth's life before that happens, which will take some time. According to scientists, earth is approximately 4.3 billion years old, which is a long time, but as time progressed we humans kept finding ways to harm the earth at an exponential rate. In some cases we have also caused the extinction of many species that once inhabited earth. Some countries and certain states have started to take note of these trends and started to implement public policy and also have come up with new ways to combat this. Renewable energy is one of the best options at the moment and will hopefully make our earth a better place,literally. Many people go about their day always concerned about the political spectrum,which is fine, but the issues that accompany earth such as climate change are always swept under the rug and never heard of again.

Solar energy is a kind of sustainable energy and is the cleanest one for it has fewer side effects than other green energy like hydroelectricity. Solar energy comes from the sunlight, which is generated by the sun infinitely. According to a study (NREL, 2017), the total solar energy that cast from the sun to the earth per hour can meet the energy demand of the whole world in a year. Solar energy is a kind of energy that takes full advantages of light, radiation and heat inside the sunlight. Solar power contains two types: the active one and the passive one. The active solar technologies like photovoltaic solar energy system (PV), and energy conversion between sunlight and heat like solar water heating system which is extensively applied in family and industries. By using external facilities to supply energy, active solar techniques can use electronic equipment and machines to collect and concentrate scattering sunlight. On the other hand, passive solar technologies using architecture designs to utilize sunshine, without any external devices. According to Energy outlook presented in 2007 (REN21, 2008), China will become the biggest energy consumer and the largest greenhouse gases emitter in 2010. Since China began to study solar energy technologies and establishes photovoltaic (PV) around 1985 (Yang et al., 2003), China makes miraculous progress in solar technologies. Although China lacked essential and stimulative policies until 2010 (Zhang & He, 2013),

If certain regions would be allowed to drill oil in, then more oil could be extracted and the price could lower for gasoline

Our world and specifically the U.S. are dependent on the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource and one that we are extremely dependent on. We will soon run out of fossil fuels, and when that happens in the near future we must be prepared. There are groups that believe that renewable energy is not efficient, and the cost is too great to be effective. Some even believe that jobs will be lost and the economy will falter. There is some truth to this, but this argument is much deeper than monetary issues. In the long run, it is essential to develop renewable and clean energy sources because without it the U.S. may very well be doomed. It is also beneficial to develop alternative energy they have many advantages over conventional fossil fuels. A complete effort is essential in order to successfully transfer to clean and renewable energy. These energy sources have major benefits for the U.S. who is far behind European nations, and without improvements will fall behind. Developing clean and renewable energy results in multifaceted benefits; these benefits along with the fact that we have a limited supply of fossil fuels allows for the conclusion that it is vital to commit to renewable energy.

In the world that we live, the prospects for renewable energy will increase in the European union as a whole, and in the UK in particular, in the coming decades. Renewable energy sources are already providing a significant proportion of the world’s primary energy, and it is likely to be providing a much greater proportion of the world’s energy by the second half of the 21th century. The European Union countries may do something to increase 20% of all energy from Renewable sources by 2020 to the society.This essay will outline the benefits and limitations of two common renewable energy sources, then, it will discuss how the topic suggestion is realistic in the UK context, and finally, what need to be done to increase renewable energy to 20%