Browsing Tag Strong Winds

There are many energy sources today that are extremely limited in supply. Some of these sources include oil, natural gas, and coal. It is a matter of time before they will be exhausted.

Estimates are that they can only meet our energy demands for another fifty to seventy years. So in an effort to find alternative forms of energy, the world has turned to renewable energy sources as the solution. There are many advantages and disadvantages to this.

Renewable energy sources consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass. The most common advantage of each is that they are renewable and cannot be depleted. They are a clean energy, as they don’t pollute the air, and they don’t contribute to global warming or greenhouse effects. Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced and they also require less maintenance on their plants. A common disadvantage to all is that it is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to. Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.

Solar energy makes use of the sun’s energy. It is advantageous because the systems can fit into existing buildings and it does not affect land use. But since the area of the collectors is large, more materials are required. Solar radiation is also controlled by geography. And it is limited to daytime hours and non-cloudy days.

Wind energy uses the power of the wind to produce electricity. Although it is the largest job producer, it is reliant on strong winds. Wind turbines are large and, although you can use the area under them for farming, many consider them unattractive looking. They are also very noisy to operate. In addition, they threaten the wild bird population.

Hydroelectric energy uses water to produce power. This is the most reliable of all the renewable energy sources. On the down side, it affects ecology and causes downstream problems. The decay of vegetation along the riverbed can cause the buildup of methane. Methane is a contributing gas to greenhouse effect. Dams can also alter the natural river flow and affect wildlife. Colder, oxygen poor water can be released into the river, killing fish. And the release of water from the dam can cause flooding.

Geothermal energy uses steam from the Earth’s ground to generate power. It uses smaller land areas than other power plants. They can run 24 hours per day, every day of the year. Disadvantages are that it is very site specific and, along with the heat from the Earth, it can also bring up toxic chemicals when obtaining the steam. Drilling geothermal reservoirs and finding them can be an expensive task.

Biomass electricity is produced through the energies from wood, agricultural and municipal waste. It helps save on landfill waste but transportation can be expensive and ecological diversity of land may be affected. In addition, its process needs to be made simpler.

Ocean energy is a clean and abundant energy form. It does, however, have high costs. Ocean thermal energy also requires close to a forty degree Fahrenheit difference in water temperature year round. In addition, construction and laying pipes can cause damage to the ecosystem.

There are many advantages to the use of renewable energy sources. There are also some disadvantages. The fact is energy demands will continue to increase. Through research and development, as well as, new technologies, the hope is many of the disadvantages of renewable sources of energy can be eliminated and we can successfully incorporate it into our power supplies.

Renewable energy has its uses but they aren’t all advantageous. In this piece some of the benefits and adverse effects of renewable energy are considered and examined in different forms of renewable energy.

When people think or energy sources, they mostly think of coal, natural gas and oil, these fuels have been the source of energy for a number of years. However one problem is that they are limited in supply and availability.

Estimates have shown that the currently available sources will only meet our current energy demands for about 50 to 70 years or so. In order to find alternative sources of energy the world has decided to pursue renewable energy sources. However even renewable energy sources have their advantages and disadvantages too.

The available renewable energy sources that we have include solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass. The most common of these advantages is that they are clean energy sources and do not pollute the air. They also do not contribute to global warming or greenhouse effects. Because the sources of such energy are natural the cost of operations are substantially reduced and they require less maintenance on their plants. One common disadvantage is that it is impossible to produce large quantities of electricity than can be done with fossil fuels. Because they are new technologies the costs of initiating them is also high.

Solar energy utilizes the energy from the sun. It has its advantages because these systems can easily fit into existing buildings and do not affect land use. Since the area that these collectors rest in is quite large, a lot more materials are needed. Solar radiation is also controlled by geography too. It is also limited to the daytime as well as non-cloudy days.

Wind energy makes use of the power of the wind in order to create electricity. Though it produces the most jobs it is reliant on strong winds too. Wind turbines tend to be large and though the areas under them can be used for farming, most people think of them as unattractive looking. These turbines are also very noisy to operate and they threaten the population of wild birds too.

Hydroelectric energy makes use of water in order to produce power. It is the most reliable of all energy sources that are renewable. Its disadvantages are that it affects the ecology and causes downstream problems. Decay of vegetation on the riverbed can also cause a buildup of methane which contributes to the greenhouse effects. Dams may also cause an alteration of the natural river flow and affect wildlife in the area as well. Water which is colder and which is lacking in oxygen tends to be released into the water this kills the fish, sudden release of water like this may also result in flooding.

Geothermal energy makes use of the steam from the Earth’s ground in order to generate power. It uses a smaller land area that other types of power plants. They can literally run continuously throughout the year. The disadvantages tend to be that these plants are site specific and it can bring up toxic chemicals and heat from the earth when it tries to obtain the steam. Drilling such geothermal reservoirs can also cost a lot.

Biomass electricity is made from the energies of wood, agricultural and municipal waste. It tends to help save on landfill waste but the transportation is also expensive and tends to affect the diversity of the land. Other than this the process is quite complex and should be much simpler.

Ocean energy is a clean and abundant energy form. It tends to be expensive and in order to access this energy, you need at least a 40 degree Fahrenheit difference in water temperature throughout the year. Other than this, the construction and putting in place of pipes may damage the ecosystem.