Natural Sources of Energy and Alternative Energy - Essay Example

? Alternative Energy Introduction Energy sources have become a question of interest with regards to commercializationof energy. Within the energy sector, questions associated with how energy sources can be sustainable to the economies have been raised with regards to the type of energy and the purpose it serves. While the number of energy sources that can be tapped effectively to provide large scale energy production have been non-renewable sources (Meier and Kulcinski, 23). The fact that governments and environmental analysts have suggested and even initiated implementation of others, it has come to the attention of many citizens, with regards to their nations of origin, that implementation of alternative sources of energy has been a problem in that it does not take into account the smaller details. The smaller details in the process of implementing alternative sources of energy involve scalability and timing, commercialization, substitutability, material input requirements, intermittency, and energy density. With the above mentioned issues or factors deemed the smaller details, it is observed that debate on energy sources starts and ends with the question, ‘What energy sources are more likely to be environmentally friendly and beneficial to the publics?” In this case, as the CEO of ‘Within-the-Grind Energy Initiative’ I would like to point out that the ignorance of the smaller details has set the energy sector in reverse as inflation of energy causes other sectors to lag behind. My personal take on energy solutions has engineered a proactive role of desiring to be part of the solution to educate and help create a better world. Hence fore, being the CEO of ‘Within-the-Grind Energy Initiative’, my team and I look forward to designing and analyzing alternative energy-based strategies that help better our world – our motivation is ‘there is a solution to the dying national and worldwide heritage’. For example, the agriculture sector which feeds the nation is a form of heritage but has been incurring energy charges that have never been recorded before as large scale production of agricultural products use heavy machinery for cultivating land and harvesting the products. The high prices of energy in this case have sent the agricultural sector towards the brink of unsustainability. Hence fore, this document discusses the impacts of ignoring the smaller details and how a change in strategy can improve the energy sector. Body The production of alternative energy is a measure to improve the total amount of energy produced to serve demand. This means that the supply of alternative energy is a function that needs to address failures of conventional energy sources in producing enough energy to meet demand. In addition, environmental issues of conventional energy sources such as oil and coal have triggered the need for alternative energy sources. With the problems identified as environmental issues and high demand exceeding supply, the rationale of venturing into alternative energy is to ensure that the two problems mentioned herein can be met in a timely manner. However, while meeting demand can be a function of teamwork and funding, the biggest challenge of meeting demand is the fact that alternative energy has not been scaled in terms of production. For example, the fact that an alternative energy source can meet demand of 100,000 people does not fully cover the demands of 900,000 who may depend on conventional energy sources that destroy the environment and keep declining in quantity. In this case, if the energy sector is to embrace alternative energy sources, scalability is essential in order to meet the challenges of implementation. In addition, the time frames allowed for the implementation of alternative energy projects have remained undefined in major projects and therefore limits the effectiveness of meeting demand and conserving the environment. Projects that last for 10 to 20 years are negligent of population forecasts and therefore meet challenges such as increased demand, constant destruction of the environment, and irrelevance of continual during their final implementation stages (Gagnon, 1317-1315). Hence fore, commercialization of alternative energy is a function that demands the understanding of variables or inputs with regards to purpose and scope. At a small scale production of alternative energy, it is observed that alternative energy sources are the future of the energy sector (Gagnon, 1319). In demonstration stages, alternative energy performs better and provides a much substantial effect to the problems identified within the energy sector. However, the large scale production of alternative energy has been limited to theoretical plans and stagnated projects. Large scale production of alternative energy is a function that depends on the issues to be addressed by the implementation of such as project. For example, commercialization of energy is the only way that government spending and economic viability can be ensured. Therefore, the major challenges that come with each measure taken to commercialize alternative energy involve scaling and timing. As indicated in the section on timing and scalability, the more time taken to complete a project, the more the problems pile up that interfere with the process and the objectives of the project. Commercialization of alternative energy is a challenge that most projects succumb to as the number of variables considered in the production do not reflect the level of demand and the conservation of the environment with respect to conventional energy sources that continues to be used in industries. As a recommendation, the consideration that alternative energy is a challenge that only the government can fund is wrong as commercial energy is consumed by individual companies and organizations that form a large group that energy companies can refer as customers. Individual customers, which represent the companies and organizations, are required to implement alternative energy by tapping solar and wind energy from within the grinds. Individual implementation of 100% alternative energy results to a sizeable achievement of the alternative energy goals and objectives if a large portion of the industry takes the initiative to implement alternative energy solutions. In this case, substitutability of alternative energy has been identified as a factor preventing customers from venturing into alternative energy solutions. Alternative energy sources are sources that complement the existing conventional sources of energy and are therefore termed as the other sources of energy. With the other sources of energy it is understood that alternative energy sources are not the mainstream energy sources and therefore cannot be used to exclusively supply the market. In this case, the fact that alternative energy sources are the other options, it is seen that the implementation of alternative energy projects and its funding is a function of shifting priorities (Gagnon, 1318). While alternative energy is a process that takes resources such as funding, time, space, and engineering capabilities to consideration; its implementation requires the blending of all variables to work seamlessly. However, given that the conventional energy sources occur in plenty in some periods as compared to others, the implementation or even the consideration to implement alternative energy measures is considered only when the other sources of energy are identified as unsustainable within the long term. Therefore, as a problem obstructing large scale production of alternative energy, other forms of non-renewable energy make alternative energy a substitute that in most cases is not considered unless measurable consequences of its continued use are documented. The recommendation on this problem is that the government, the organizations, and the investors within the energy sector should consider the implementation of sustainable energy strategies that focus on the long term. This means that, regardless of whether large deposits of oil are discovered, the objectives of alternative energy should be in line with the goals of conserving the environment and promoting renewable energy which is affordable and sustaining of the economies (Gagnon, 1321). However, in order to adapt alternative energy sources, it is recommended that material input requirements be analyzed with regards to how they affect the practicality of alternative energy. Material input requirements are those needed to implement a project. In many instances, the numbers of inputs that are required to ensure that a project is successful are mostly associated with funding and financial gains from the projects. For instance, the fact that alternative energy can serve as an option that limits the effects of non-renewable sources to the environment. However, while the question of scalability is important, the outcome of implementing alternative energy projects is concerned with the viability of the projects. A project aimed at serving a certain number of requirements has two considerations to set as priorities. A project that requires technical support and equipment can be more expensive to implement and sustain if its returns on investments are negative. In this case, one of the problems that obstruct the implementation process of an alternative energy strategy is its inability to meet the energy demands of the society and its expensive implementation budget that may not be recovered from returns of the project (Cleveland, 769). In addition, while pooling together of the materials needed is a task that requires funding, the timeframe of implementation and the sustainability of service create concerns on intermittency. The society that comprises of energy consumers expects that the bulb will light as soon as the switch is flipped, that gas will flow at the flip of a knob, and that the engine of a vehicle will run immediately after ignition. The expectation that energy is flowing at all times has made consumers look for energy sources that can deliver that capability. The use of alternative energy such as solar and wind energy obstructs intermittency in that wind energy can only be accessed and used only when the wind blows. This fact on intermittency has downplayed the role of alternative energy and its practicality for commercial purposes driven by customer trends in the expectation of non-interruptible and quality service. Favorable to the idea of creating a better world, the alternative energy sources that guarantee intermittency involve technical interventions such as nuclear power, oscillating wave column technology, and large scale wind farms. However, as a recommendation on how to create a better world, the level of intermittency should be spread along the alternatives of alternative wind energy. Creating a better world involves sustainability of the energy source as well as meeting of the consumer demands. Consumer demands involve the amount of energy produced to meet demand – energy density is a variable that affects this. The amount of energy contained in any given unit of an energy form is referred as energy density. For example, the production of wind energy provides lower energy yields as compared to nuclear energy production. In this case, most consumers would rather use fossil fuels that are able to produce higher energy density to run machinery and run industries than use solar and wind energy which comprise of low energy densities. In order to create a better world with less environmental issues and provide sustainable means of producing and consuming energy, nuclear power should be sought to provide higher energy outputs to satisfy demand (Cleveland, 776). Conclusion With regards to the sources used in this essay, alternative energy sources are their central focus and therefore offer substantial evidence-based approach to explain how alternative energy can be realized at a large scale by eradicating limitations. Alternative energy in theory means natural sources of energy that do not exhaust. These sources of energy differ in terms of their usability, sustainability, and their level of satisfying demand. In the production of alternative energy, various limitations have been identified such as intermittency issue, density of energy in the source, substitutability, material input requirements, and commercialization. These factors raise concerns when implementing alternative energy strategies but do not disqualify the viability of alternative energy. The viability of alternative energy is achieved by balancing the resources at hand with the need being served and the sustainability of that balance. Hence fore, in order to create a better world, it is important that stakeholders take a leading role in implementing long-term energy decisions that have environmental watch and affordability of energy as deliverables. Works Cited Cleveland, Cutler. Net Energy from the Extraction of Oil and Gas in the United States, 1954 –1997,” Energy 30, 2005: 769–782. Available online at http://www.researchgate.net/publication/222653240_Net_energy_from_the_extraction_of_oil_and_gas_in_the_United_States Gagnon, Luc. Civilization and Energy Payback. Energy Policy 36, no. 9, 2008: 3317–3322 available online at http://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v36y2008i9p3317-3322.html Meier, J., and Kulcinski, L. Life-Cycle energy requirements and Greenhouse Gas emissions for Building-Integrated Photovoltaics, Fusion Technology institute. National Renewable Energy laboratory, 2002. Available online at http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/pdf/fdm1185.pdf Read More