Green and Sustainable Energy Peculiarities - Case Study Example

GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY Date: Introduction The world is at a crisis involving alternative energy sources other than fossil fuels. This energy sources mostly involve green energy. Many countries in the world rely on fossil fuels for energy production with Saudi Arabia being one of them. Saudi Arabia is a country in the Middle East that is heavily reliant on fossil fuel for large scale energy production. It is a major oil producing nation that is trying to look for alternative sources of green energy for future uses. Most of the power plants in Saudi Arabia are run by fossil fuel generators that tend to burn a lot of fuel for power production. The amount of fuel utilization in this country for energy production is rising steadily as the years go by and it is bound to continue doing so for the next thirty years unless something is done or an alternative energy source is found for large scale production (Hasheem, 2012). Geothermal energy production Luckily enough for Saudi Arabia the country has vast geothermal deposits especially around the southern parts of the country. Geothermal energy is thermal energy produced from and stored in the earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines temperature levels of matter. In other words thermal energy is very much related to heat energy. Geothermal energy is generated due to radioactive decomposition of minerals beneath the earth’s surface. The difference in temperature between the earth’s surface and its core (geothermal gradient) is responsible for the flow of heat energy from the core to the earth’s surface. This heat energy comes out in form of steam with a lot of pressure from beneath the earth (Zehner, 2012). Geothermal energy being a form of green energy that is renewable has a wide range of uses in the kingdom which include; Electrical production where by geothermal electricity is produced from geothermal energy. Most geothermal power plants include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants, and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal generation is said to be sustainable since the heat extraction is small compared with the earth’s heat content. The first geothermal power generator was built in Italy and was used to power light bulbs. Later on the first commercial geothermal power plant was built there. Geothermal electric power plants are being built in places where high temperatures geothermal resources are near the earth’s surface. Geothermal power stations are very similar to other steam turbine power generators in that heat form the earth’s core is used to heat water which produces steam that turns the turbines of a generator thus producing electricity. Later on the steam is cooled and returned to the heat source. This proves that geothermal energy is green and sustainable (Jeffs, 2010). It could also be used in cooling in absorption and adsorption chillers. Used in desalination of salty water for other uses. Done through multi stage flash, effect distillation and forward osmosis. Heating water for domestic and industrial uses. Geothermal energy is readily available almost everywhere and can be easily harnessed for power production and other energy uses. It has some benefits which include; Providing direct employment opportunities to people in the kingdom especially in geothermal power plants. It leads to GDP contribution from the employment opportunities created by it in the kingdom. Contributes to economic growth from the alternative energy that is produced and exported Helps in reducing emission of poisonous gases that are harmful to the environment which are produced by burning fossil fuels. Promotes potential cross border and intercontinental energy exports during off peak season. Geothermal energy is a good replacement for fossil fuels and acts as a source of green energy that is environmental friendly and renewable (Doeden, 2010). Solar energy Solar energy is energy gotten from the sun where by the sun’s energy is trapped and harnessed by photo voltaic cells and solar thermal connectors that are mounted on solar panels hence that energy ends up being stored in batteries for future use especially in electricity production. This form of energy is important and provides an alternative source of green and sustainable energy. By installing solar panels on top of buildings and people’s houses in Saudi Arabia it could help to harness the suns energy and use it for production of electricity which could be used for domestic and other home uses. This is very important as it could help in reducing the over reliance of electricity produced by fossil fuel generators thus reducing the overall annual usage of fossil fuel especially for electricity production (Cota, 2009). The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is usually sunny most of the year round and has an average of at least 12 hours of daylight. This is a major advantage because it could help the kingdom to install solar panels that could be used for production of power since Saudi Arabia is usually sunny most of the year and the days are fairly long. This factor could enable the storage and production of substantial electric energy. Unlike fossil fuels the sun’s energy does not pose the risk of exhaustion. This helps to prove that the sun is a sustainable source of energy. Solar energy compared to other energy sources especially fossil fuels has a number of advantages which include; Solar energy is less costly to produce than energy produced by combusting fossil fuels. Solar panels are much cheaper than fuel combustion generators. Less to none environmentally harmful pollutants are emitted by solar energy production compared to fuel combustion. Unlike fossil fuels, solar energy is very renewable since we don’t have to worry about running out of the sun. Solar panels are extremely reliable since people don’t have to worry about replacing any parts hence proving that they require little or no maintenance. Solar panels do not make any noise while producing energy since there are the only sources of renewable energy that are completely silent. Connecting to the power grid is not necessary when dealing with solar energy hence one is completely self-sufficient and living off the grid. Solar technology is constantly improving thus solar installations are increasing by an incredible 50% every year especially among small homemade systems. Use of solar energy has proved to be very possible and reliable since in Saudi Arabia solar schools and solar villages are being set up in Al-jubaila and Al-uyaina in experimental settings to see if villages can run on solar power. This is a good initiative by the kingdom towards finding a good alternative energy source. Under energy consumption in relation to solar power there are a number of areas and uses of solar energy that could help in energy conservation and reducing the rate of energy consumption. These uses of solar energy include; Solar energy can be used for residential purposes since it is used in lighting and in solar powered appliances. It is used in residential homes for heating water with a solar heater. It is also used in cooking whereby some cookers have been invented which are powered by solar energy for cooking and heating purposes instead of using gas to do it. Solar energy will also help to reduce electric bills thus proving that residential solar setups are helping to reduce power consumption. Solar panels placed on the roof of some houses are being used to power up water pumps that are supposed to pump water into the house thus reducing the necessity to buy fuel based water pumps that will have to combust fuels to do the task. Air conditioners nowadays are being powered by solar panels especially in residential homes thus reducing the consumption of fuel by not using fueled based air conditioners Finally gardens can be lit using solar lighters using energy from the solar panels. Conclusion Solar energy is a renewable source of energy that is reliable and efficient in that it helps to cut down on electric bills and also helps to reduce environmental pollution since solar panels do not emit any form of emissions. Both solar and geothermal energy are about to bring a technological revolution in the energy sector by providing alternative sources of clean energy. This is bound to happen not only in Saudi Arabia but also globally since both geothermal and solar resources are found almost everywhere else in the planet and if properly used, they can help prevent a lot of pollution and help nations all over the world save a lot of money. Green energy is the key to serving the world’s future energy needs, since fossil fuel will soon be exhausted and seems to be destroying the environment. Other than solar and geothermal energy other sources of renewable energy include; wind energy, tidal energy, wave power, hydroelectricity, radiant energy, biomass and nuclear energy (Komor, 2004). References Doeden, M. (2010). Green energy: Crucial gains or economic strains?. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books. Foster, R., Ghassemi, M., & Cota, A. (2010). Solar energy: Renewable energy and the environment. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Jeffs, E. J. (2010). Green energy: Sustainable electricity supply with low environmental impact. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Komor, P., & Diebold Institute for Public Policy Studies (2004). Renewable energy policy. New York: IUniverse, Inc. Zehner, O. (2012). Green illusions: The dirty secrets of clean energy and the future of environmentalism. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Read More