Renewable Energy - Coursework Example

Renewable Energy Introduction Before going into the discussion regarding renewable energy, let us get a better understanding of what renewable energy actually is. Renewable energy refers to continuous and natural energy sources such as rain, wind, sunlight, and geothermal energy. Renewable energy sources are used for the generation of electricity and for some other industrial purposes. Renewable energy is not only used on large scales for big cities but also it can be used for providing electricity to small villages. The main reason for switching from traditional energy sources to renewable energy sources is that the energy sources like natural gas, coal, and oil have no permanent reservoirs and they will be exhausted at some time in future. Therefore, the world has turned to renewable energy sources as alternatives to traditional sources of energy (Hick, n.d.). 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of renewable Energy 2.1 Advantages Renewable energy sources are some of the very beneficial energy sources for a country. Some of the most considerable advantages of renewable energy include sustainability, less maintenance requirement, reduced cost of operations, and increased economic benefits. These advantages also make renewable energy sources very critical for the economic stability of a country. These resources not only bring economic benefits, but also they put a very minimal impact on the environment because of generation of very little amount of waste products. No polluting emissions and repeated use without depletion are also two of the most considerable advantages of renewable energy. 2.2 Disadvantages Apart from the advantages, there also exist some disadvantages of renewable energy. However, the number of disadvantages is very less as compared to the advantages. Some of the disadvantages include difficulty in generating electricity quantities equivalent to fossil fuel generated electricity and unreliability under certain conditions. Let us now discuss some of the widely used sources of renewable energy in order to get a clear picture of their advantages and disadvantages. 3. Renewable Energy Sources There are six major types of renewable energy sources, which include hydropower energy source, wind energy source, solar energy source, geothermal energy source, biomass energy source, and nuclear power. Let us discuss all of them in some detail. 3.1 Hydropower Energy Hydropower energy source is the most recent invention in renewable energy. Hydropower is the largest source of renewable energy, which has the generating capacity of 77,000 Megawatts (Conlan, 2009). It is due to the scarcity and rising prices of oil and gas that a large number of developed countries are putting their efforts to switch to hydropower energy. This renewable energy source has the ability to provide 8 to 10 percent of the total electricity required by a country. In the United States of America, nearly 9 percent of the total electricity is generated using hydropower systems. Every country needs electricity for running the industries and the total electricity generated from traditional systems is not able to meet the industrial requirements. Therefore, most of the countries are switching to hydropower energy systems because of their ability to generate a good percentage of electricity. Flowing water is the main source of hydropower energy. Hydropower energy is generated when the water flowing from the rivers is released through turbines to form usable energy. A small stream of water is able to generate a large amount of energy, as it is nearly 800 percent dense as compared to air. Hydropower energy is non-pollutant for the environment. However, it can cause a little harm for the marine life. A major drawback related to hydropower energy is that it is a very expensive alternative to traditional energy sources and can take a long time in becoming a common method to generate energy. Conlan (2009) assets, “Hydropower is also highly expensive and is likely to take a long time to install”. Although hydropower energy is expensive, yet this drawback is not enough to overshadow the advantages of hydropower energy source. 3.2 Wind Energy Wind is another type of renewable energy source, which has the ability to generate nearly 2500 Megawatts of energy. Wind energy is produced using a wind turbine. The size of a turbine determines the energy capacity, which it can generate. Large sized wind turbines are used to provide energy on a large scale whereas in some places, small turbines are used to provide electricity to homes, farms, and ranches. “The wind rotates the blade that is attached to a main shaft where a generator is installed” (Conlan, 2009). Wind energy systems are being widely used all over the world. At present, the leading producers of wind energy are Denmark and the United Kingdom. Orloff (n.d.) states, “In the older windmills, wind energy was used to turn mechanical machinery to do physical work, like crushing grain or pumping water”. Wind energy systems produce no harm for the environment because no chemical processes take place during generation of electricity. On the land occupied by wind turbines, grazing and farming can still take place, which can assist the countries in the production of bio-fuels. One of the drawbacks associated with wind energy source is the noise, which a turbine produces while rotating. Another drawback is the inconsistent speed of the turbine, which varies with the speed of the wind. Less electricity is generated in case of decreased wind speed. 3.3 Solar Energy As the name suggests, solar renewable energy is derived from the sunlight. The solar energy system makes use of solar collectors to absorb solar radiation. The radiation is then used to heat water or air, which produces steam for operating a turbine. Solar energy system is not expensive as compared to hydropower and wind energy systems. Solar energy sources are very useful because they help the countries manage the demand and supply systems of electricity effectively. Sunlight is a natural resource, which is available to every person. Solar energy is used commonly for various purposes such as cooking, heating, and for the production of electricity. There are two techniques to produce energy through sunlight, which include active solar technique and passive solar technique. In active solar technique, thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels are used to tap the solar energy. The solar electric cells convert the sunlight directly into usable energy. Photovoltaic systems are also used to power mathematical calculators. In passive solar technique, spacious designs and thermal mass materials are used to get a maximum use of sunlight. Some of the major uses of solar energy systems include heating water and buildings and for drying the crops. Governments of the developing countries encourage citizens to install solar energy systems at their homes in order to reduce the overall need of electricity to be generated using traditional systems. The solar energy reaches the earth as long as the sun is shining. In addition, solar energy systems are environment friendly as no chemical reaction place during generation of energy. As far as their drawbacks are concerned, solar energy systems are not able to produce energy in case of cloudy weather or at night, which is a major drawback of solar energy systems. 3.4 Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy source is one of the most famous renewable energy sources in which energy is produced by the heat of the earth. “When holes are drilled in the region, the steam that shoots up is purified and is used to drive turbines, which power electric generators” (Orloff, n.d.). It is a widely used method to produce energy in some countries such as United States, New Zealand, Iceland, and Kenya. We can take example of the Unite States of America in which nearly 2700 Megawatts of energy is generated using geothermal energy systems every year. The natural steam, which occurs under the earth’s surface, produces geothermal energy. “Steam is extracted to power a turbine which in turn powers an electric generator” (Conlan, 2009). Geothermal energy systems are very reliable and cost effective as compared to other energy sources such as hydropower and wind energy systems. They have very little effects on the natural landscape because of its small sized power plants. If we talk about its drawbacks, we can say that difficulty in finding the feasible land sites is the major problem associated with geothermal energy systems. Geothermal systems can also produce pollutants if they are not installed properly. 3.5 Biomass/Bio-Fuel Biomass is another type of renewable energy, which produces nearly 11 percent of the world’s total renewable energy. “Biomass is taken from industrial processing of forestry and wood products, agriculture, construction and solid waste” (Conlan, 2009). The engineers burn the collected waste products in a gas turbine in order to convert them into dry natural gas. Biomass produces less sulfur dioxide, which makes it one of the best alternatives to coal and other energy sources. 4. Conclusion Summing it up, renewable energy or the natural energy sources such as rain, wing, sunlight, and geothermal energy are used for the generation of electricity by most of the countries of the world. The main reason for switching to renewable energy sources is the scarcity of other energy sources such as natural gas, coal, and oil. Therefore, renewable energy sources are very helpful in managing the demand of electricity in all countries of the world. References Conlan, C 2009. Six Types of Renewable Energy Sources - What Are They?, viewed 08 March 2011, . Hick, M n.d. Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy, viewed 08 March 2011, . Orloff, J n.d. Alternative Energy Sources, viewed 08 March 2011, . Read More