Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy

INTRODUCTION

People all over the world are experiencing an increased need for energy to satisfy their socio-economic development, health, and welfare needs. Most communities in the 21^st century rely heavily on the use of oil, coal, and natural gas to suit their energy needs. These sources pose several threats to people’s health and the environment. For instance, non-renewable sources of energy such as fossil fuels contribute to 60% of the greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted, making them responsible for the climate change experienced around the globe.

Furthermore, these sources of energy utilize lots of resources and are at risk of eventually diminishing. According to the United Nations environmental program, around 66% percent of electrical energy generation and 80% of the total global energy are generated from fossil fuels. Following the imminent decline in fossil fuel sources, most countries have started the transition to cleaner and alternative energy sources. Some of these alternative sources of energy are solar energy, biomass energy, wave or tidal power, geothermal energy, wind energy, hydroelectric energy systems, passive energy systems, and photovoltaic systems. The purpose of this paper is to expand our knowledge on the beneficial and economic aspects of using alternative energy sources as compared to traditional energy sources. This paper will help improve our understanding of the science of renewable energy, provide my peers with advice on the use of renewable sources of energy, and support the uptake of renewable energy technologies.

BENEFITS OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

Renewable energy sources are sustainable. A source of energy is considered sustainable if it meets the following demands of energy: long term availability, the energy sources should be naturally replenished, and the energy efficiency of these sources should show the ability to be improved by technology (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, pg. 200). Renewable sources of energy such as wind, geothermal, solar tidal hydropower are obtained from the flows of energy in the environment. These energy sources have always existed for many centuries and continue to be restored. Research scientists affirm that renewable energy sources have low environmental impacts by the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases (Cheng, pg. 30). Statistics indicate that renewable sources of energy supplied over 22% of the total global energy requirements. Many countries make considerable investments in developing solar farms, wind farms, tidal power stations, and dams along rivers to harness this energy. Modern techniques, coupled with technological innovation, have increased the quantity of the utilization of renewable energy sources have was not possible in the last decade (Cheng, pg. 30). Further exploitation of these sources of energy will continue serving human kinds of energy demands for several years without depletion.

Alternative sources of energy provide solutions for mitigation of climate change. The world’s climate has been changing. The rate of climate change has been increased at an alarming rate and remains to be one of humanity’s greatest threats. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change estimates that the carbon dioxide emission rate has increased over the recent 36 years to about a rate of 2.0 ppm per year. Fossil fuels accounts for majority of global carbon dioxide emissions with levels of over 39% above preindustrial level (Cheng, pg. 30).  A lot of focus has therefore been put to curb the further deterioration of the climate from these sources. Renewable sources of energy provide a way of lowering greenhouse gases emissions while still satisfying the global energy demand clean energy sources (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, pg. 230). The optimal use of these sources helps to decrease impacts on the environmental by providing minimal secondary waste to the atmosphere.

Hydropower is an example of an alternative source of energy derived from moving water from high to low elevations. The water then runs turbines used in generating electricity. The energy is obtained from gravity and stored in terms of potential energy as the water mass, the defined head and gravity factor of the water. The World Energy Council reports that the global hydropower potential stands at 14576 TWh with a potential of 3721GW (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie,pg. 224). Furthermore, hydropower reserves offer multiple uses, such as flood and drought control. The water may be used for irrigation, navigation, and drinking water by the locals around these power projects. The World Energy Council Report indicates that the global potential for hydropower utilization hasn’t been fully reached. However, the use of hydropower is affected by factors of climate change, and additional research is being conducted to lower these effects on hydropower generation. Hydropower offers a good source of alternative energy with no particulate pollution hence should be embraced.

Solar energy comes from sources that directly utilize the sun’s energy. Solar energy is harnessed irradiation of the sun on the earth’s surface and used in electricity generation. This generation can be done using photovoltaic cells (Khare et al, pg. 27). The sun’s thermal energy can be utilized using concentrating solar power techniques. Solar energy can be used to satisfy lighting energy demands. This alternative source of energy can be used to produce fuels used in the transport industries (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, pg 224). This energy source is the most abundant source of alternative energy but only limited by factors such as collection, conversion, and conversion into other forms of energy. According to the World Energy Council, the global consumption of the suns energy stands at 450 EJ, which is 7500 times less than the solar irradiation falling on the earth (Khare et al, pg. 27). Solar energy can also be utilized at a commercial and residential capacity since one can install solar panels depending on the individual needs and requirements. Solar energy sources do not emit any waste material and are therefore safe to the environment. Further utilization of this source of energy should be encouraged since it promises sustainability, and it’s cheap compared to the traditional sources of energy.

Bioenergy energy sources are alternative energy sources obtained from biological sources. This source is utilized in the transport industry as biodiesel, cooking, generation of electricity, heating. Bioenergy can be obtained from a variety of sources such as agricultural residues like bagasse, animal waste products such as cow dung, and wood residues (Cheng, pg. 30). The potential for biomass yield vary from one country to another with medium levels in temperature areas and high levels in tropical and sub-tropic countries (Khare et al, pg. 27). For instance, the yearly consumption of biodiesel in the US was about 30 billion liters (Cheng, pg. 30). The cost of production of bioenergy is significantly lower than the traditional energy sources. For instance, the cost of producing 1 kWh of biomass energy stands at about $ 0.058.  This value is much smaller than other electricity production costs. The advantage of biomass as an alternative source of energy is that the fuel comes from residues, waste products, or byproducts of biological sources. Bioenergy production also does not lead to the creation of competition between agricultural land and energy generation land.

Another alternative energy source is geothermal energy. This energy source occurs naturally in the interior of the earth as a source of heat energy. The challenge with this energy source is its uneven distribution and occurrence at depths that can be exploited. Despite these challenges, geothermal energy offers a sustainable and clean source of energy (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, pg. 224). This energy can be utilized in water cooling and heating systems using geothermal heat pumps. Heat from the indoor air can be used in water heating systems. According to Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie (pg. 226), geothermal reserves of hot water are a source of steam used in power generation. Steam from the reservoir is used in powering a generator or a turbine. Other applications of geothermal energy include crop cultivation in greenhouses, water heating at fish farms, drying crops, and industrial use like milk pasteurization. The wide variety of applications of this alternative energy source plus its zero effect on the environment provides suitable grounds to embrace its harvesting.

The use of wind energy as an alternative energy source has been embraced worldwide. Most governments are commissioning onshore wind energy projects to ensure that more wind energy is harvested (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, pg. 223).  This energy source forms part of the most abundant renewable energy sources. Wind energy utilizes the kinetic energy from the power moving air (Khare et al, pg. 27).  This energy can be harnessed using large turbines located offshore or onshore. These turbines convert wind energy into electricity, which can then be used in a variety of applications (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, pg. 224). Wind energy provides an essential application for climate change mitigation by providing a clean source of energy.

Tidal energy can be harnessed from the wind that passes over the water creating waves. Faster wind speeds lead to greater wave heights and consequently, higher wave energy generated. Currents, waves, heat, and tides in the ocean can be a significant supplier of global energy demand (Khare et al, pg. 27). Tidal energy provides a more sustainable and economical source of the world energy supply. This alternative energy source should, therefore, be embraced as a beneficial and economical source of energy.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, alternative sources of energy ensure sustainable development. These sources of energy have a direct influence on a country’s economic productivity. Most nations should embrace these alternative energy sources since they avail avenues for socio-economic development, energy security, mitigation of climate change, and reduction of health impacts acquired from using traditional sources of energy. These alternative energy sources are distributed all over the globe as compared to the conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels.

These sources of energy provide energy security around the globe by reducing an economy’s vulnerability to price volatility often experienced from traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels. The energy sector is crucial in economic development due to the correlation that exists between economic growth and increased energy consumption. Having sustainable energy sources will ensure that a country can meet its rising energy demands. Generation of energy from these alternate energy sources also leads to job creation.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) requires accessibility to affordable and clean energy by every person. The even distribution of the renewable energy sources provides every person with access to clean and renewable sources of energy. These renewable energy sources can be distributed using mini-grid distribution techniques to provide every person with access to electricity, especially in rural areas. Utilization of renewable energy sources in generation or energy significantly reduces greenhouse gases. These sources help mitigate climate change and lower the environmental and health risks associated with using traditional forms of energy

 Work cited

Cheng, Jay, ed. Biomass to renewable energy processes. CRC press, 2017.

Dincer, Ibrahim, and Canan Acar. “Smart energy systems for a sustainable future.” Applied           energy 194 (2017): 225-235.

Khare, Vikas, Savita Nema, and Prashant Baredar. “Solar–wind hybrid renewable energy system:             A review.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 58 (2016): 23-33.

Owusu, Phebe Asantewaa, and Samuel Asumadu-Sarkodie. “A review of renewable energy          sources, sustainability issues and climate change mitigation.” Cogent Engineering 3.1          (2016): 1167990.