Alternative energy and the possibility of replacing Fossil fuel effectively
Alternative energy refers to energy sources other than fossil energy. Alternative energy falls under two categories, which are renewable sources and nuclear. Energy sources that do not deplete or can be replenished from the renewable sources of energy hence locking nuclear energy out of this category. Andreas Libavius was the first individual to introduce the theory of the existence of fossil fuel formed from fossil remains. The term “fossil oil” was first used in the work of a German chemist named Casper Neumann. Aquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton that died millions of years ago formed petroleum and gas in the process of aerobic decomposition. Renewable energy forms the basic alternative sources of energy in that before the development of coal, almost all energy used was renewable. The oldest use of renewable energy can be seen back in the period of harnessing of wind to drive ships over water. By the 1870s, there were fears that civilization will run out of fossil fuel, and the need for a better source of energy was established. Professor Augustin Mouchot wrote, “the time will come when the industry of Europe will cease to find the natural resources so necessary for it. Petroleum spring and coal mines are not inexhaustible but are rapidly diminishing in many places”.
Alternative or preferably renewable energy has both negative and positive impacts on the globe. The most common forms of renewable energy that are likely to replace fossil energy include solar (photovoltaic, solar thermal), wind, wave and tidal power, biomass, and geothermal. Through the use of clean, renewable energy, the carbon footprint can be reduced to a great extent. Due to the environmental changes and climate change caused by the heavy use of fossil fuel, renewable energy has gained a share in the energy consumption mix of many countries being an alternative source of energy (Akarsu, Gulsum et al. pp.1). The greatest advantage of renewable energy is that it can never run out. Alternative energy is obtained straight from the environment to generate power; some of these environmental concepts include sunshine, wind, and biomass, which have little or no chances of becoming extinct. The maintenance requirements for renewable energy are low, making it affordable to countries with week economic power. Alternative sources of energy do not rely on flammability or combustion fuel for them to be implemented; furthermore, most of the equipment used to generate renewable energy has few or no moving parts; this makes them easier to maintain in terms of financial and supervision cost. Through the implementation of alternative sources, energy is diversified, making every country able to enable countries to achieve trade balance. Deployment of renewable energy sources provides countries favorable trade balance effects, self-sufficiency, and energy supply security by decreasing the energy import dependency because these energy sources are local sources including, for example, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and hydro energy sources and can substitute the imported fossil fuels (Akarsu, Gulsum et al. pp. 9). the burden of overreliance on foreign energy is a problem to many countries in that it’s a costly affair that is not guaranteed. Continuous supply of foreign energy makes a country dependent on factors like the political climate of the country where fossil fuel is generated from making most countries to be dragged into foreign conflicts hence thus making local renewable energy the best option. Renewable energy is far less costly compared to fossil fuel and can be used as the greatest strategy towards global environmental conservation due to the fact that investment into renewables drives fossil fuel plants out of the market( Falbo, Paolo et al. pp.2). Renewable energy has a wider area of application; for example, in cities through encouraging the use of renewable energy, it’s possible to create a society that can continue with its recreational activities while conceiving the environment at the same time. Integration of renewable energy technology in the society and cities can increase the total energy generated in a country by a huge percentage (Tereci, Aysegul et al. pp.1-12)
Despite the numerous advantages, alternative energy has its predicaments, as will be seen in this paper. Intermittency is one of the most frustrating phenomena of renewables in that renewables sources are not available all year round or 24/7. Some days may be windier or sunny than others; also, the sun isn’t available at night. The unpredictability of weather makes renewable energy more complicated in that the flow of renewable energy isn’t guaranteed either. Storage capabilities and expenses are also a great disadvantage to the alternative energy sector in that despite the fact that the technology available today, large scale storage of renewable energy is an expensive affair, which can be a major challenge to developing countries. Developing new technology storage plants requires a stable economy, a factor that may be difficult to put in place globally.
Fossil fuel, on the other hand, also has its positives and negatives; however, it’s the source of energy that the world has been relying on for the longest period of time. Technological advancement has made fossil energy a relatively cheap source of energy because the extraction of fossil fuel has become cheaper through innovations, hence a huge return on investment. The economic benefits that come with the extraction of fossil fuel are tremendous in that countries that extract fossil fuel are able to implement a sense of modern culture, and their citizens live a civilized life due to the profits that come with the extraction of fossil fuel. Global economic growth can be highly accrued to fossil fuel in that through this fuel; the world has been able to survive for a long time in terms of industrial growth. The abundance of fossil fuel is also an advantage in that this type of fuel is capable of running the global economy for a long time. There are many countries with the ability to tap fossil fuel, and with the improving technology, refining and transport have become a more comfortable and reliable affair globally. Fossil fuel has a considerable calorific value (calorific value is the amount of energy contained in each unit of fuel), which means it’s an efficient source of energy this explains why they are still dominant more than renewable sources of energy. The byproducts of fossil fuel are as useful as fossil fuel itself in that through products like plastic other commodities like medical equipment and computers are made.
Fossil fuel has its share of bottlenecks in that its the greatest contributor to global warming due to the fact that fossil fuel contains high amounts of carbon that alters the atmospheric arrangements of gasses in the atmosphere. Human cased emissions of carbon dioxide play a central role in the rising global temperature and rising sea levels (Burger, Michael, et al. 2018). Fossil fuel is non- renewable in nature; this means that it’s finite in nature, and there will come a time when the world will not do not have fossil energy. The reserves of fossil fuel are not replenishing naturally, and it takes millions of years for the formation of fossil fuel to take place; this makes it risky for the world to rely on fossil fuel fully. Recently fossil fuel has been experiencing fluctuations in terms of prices and hence making it risky for investment in that some countries enjoy the monopoly of providing fossil fuel hence making them overprice the commodity. The rise of the renewable energy sector, however, has provided a huge competition to the fossil energy economy in that the resilience in the renewable energy stock returns to oil price uncertainty (Kyritsis and Evangelos 21).
While the debate on renewable and non-renewable energy intensifies in the globe, different companies have risen up to establish stable renewable energy around the globe; some of these companies include First Solar, whose headquarters are in Arizona with offices all over the world. First Solar Company has large plants in six continents, including one on the small island of Samoa. Canadian Solar is another renewable energy company that has focused on the provision of solar energy globally. Canadian Solar has manufacturing facilities in countries like Canada, South Asia, Brazil, and China; this shows that the renewable energy sector is a potential source of clean energy globally. Non- renewable energy, on the other hand, has economic giant companies that have been providing energy to the globe for a long period of time. Fossil fuel is the dominant source of energy making the companies that have invested in this type of energy super-rich some of these companies include Philips 66 and Marathon Petroleum these companies are leading providers of the fossil fuel in the United States however there has been a huge debate in trying to make fossil fuel companies accountable to the cases of climate change. In the recent years, different lawsuits have been filed to try and bring fossil fuel companies into accountability To date, 13 cities and counties in California, Colorado, Washington, and New York have filed lawsuits against major oil and gas producers( Burger, Michael et al. pp. 397-403).
Climate change is a rising global pressure that has put the whole energy sector into debates. Fossil fuel is taking huge blame on the increased carbon emission in the world, and hence a lot of pressure is being put on the regulation of these fossil fuel companies. Adverse weather conditions such as hurricanes and prolonged droughts have been linked to fossil fuel, and hence renewable energy is taking the lead as the only option available to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Switching into renewable sources of energy has effects both in terms of pricing and sustainability of the energy and the economy in general (Libo Zhang et al. pp. 2861–2871). Research is done; however, it also shows that fuel prices are much less relevant in determining the dynamics of electricity prices in recent years(Gianfreda & Angelica 2019); this shows that fossil fuel is slowly losing control as the sole economic determinant of pricing. Renewable energy targets have a great impact to members of the E.U and its households (Landis & Florian et al. 45) in that increase in prices of energy-related commodities makes it a challenge to low-income households however the E.U has no other option but to discuss the matter of investing in renewable energy due to the adverse effects of fossil fuel the world is currently experiencing.
In conclusion, energy is a sensitive topic on the planet, and how its generated and used determines how the human race and nature, in general, are going to survive. Replacing fossil fuel is a continuous process which will take some time to be fully implemented however the governments of the world have a role to play in ensuring that as the world slowly adjusts to new renewable energy, the transition doesn’t bring uncontrollable economic problems such as inflation and depression which will cost the world a great blow. Climate change has to be addressed with sufficiency and speed in that the situation is slowly getting out of hand, and the continuation of atmospheric intoxication will have an adverse effect on the planet.
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