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Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy
Author: Matthew Hick
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.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-renewable-energy-109682.html
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Advantages
*Most of it is Free
*easier for people in poor countries to use
*does not pollute the environment or harm people
*can provide jobs for people
*safer (no possibility of exploxions)
*does not produce harmful waste
Disadvantages
*takes a lond time to be produced or grow
*doesnt have the same quality as unrenewable energy(think electricity)
*strong winds can damage windmills, making a big loss
*too much dependence on Mother Nature!
Hope that helps
All details are on their home page
First, its all a guess but the sun will continue to shine for about another 2-4 billion years. So for all practical purposes, its eternal.
Solar energy depends on sunshine, one disadvantage is cloudy, overcast, rainy, snow etc. days. No sunshine, no real energy. Another difficulty is converting solar energy, solar panels generate direct current (DC) and this has to be converted to AC current to run appliances, etc. in your house. In order to store solar energy, batteries are required, so the DC current from the solar panels can charge the batteries, and then the DC current must be converted to AC.
Solar panels are not cheap but the price is coming down. They also don’t last forever and can be damaged by hail, etc.
The good news is, solar energy is clean, not pollution except for the manufacture of the panels and for the moment, sunshine is still free.
wind energy is good, it is noisy and people do not like to look at the windmills
biogas is good
alcohol in gasoline is not good
solar is good
water power is good
We are not using what we should because of the oil lobbies.
Wind –
pros – clean, renewable
cons – not very efficient, location dependant, expensive to maintain, requires a lot of land, reliability
Solar
pros-clean, renewable
cons- clouds, large area required, location, currently not very efficient
Hydro
Pros – efficient, clean, renewable, reliable
Cons – location, environmental impact of dam
Propane
Pros – relatively clean
Cons – expensive, not as efficient as other fuels, must be near a source
Coal
Pros – cheap, cost efficient, reliable
Cons – dirty
Nuclear
Pros- no air pollution, efficient, reliable
Cons – disposal of used uranium, security, expensive, although quite safe, an accident can have severe effects.
what are some advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources.?
the following sources:
RENEWABLE- wind, solar, and hydropower
NON_RENEWABLE- propane, coal and uranium ore.
Advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy?
i really need the answer all i have for
Advantages
*doesnt run out
*it is better for the environment
*it cost less (the actual source not the technology used)
Disadvantages
*the technology costs alot
*you can only use it in a certain place of time (tidal ,solar,wind ECT)
please i got to hand my homework in tommorrow and it is 9:34 pm here.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of using different forms of renewable energy.?
Could you provide me with a couple examples, and why we don’t use these as main sources.
Why is solar energy a renewable resource and also some advantages and disadvantages of using solar energy?
Please tell me some disadvantages and advantages of using solar energy. I also need to know why it is a renewable resource. Can you also tell me how much of of solar energy is left and how long it will last. Thank you so much. [Tell me some websites to vist about this information]
what are some disadvantages and advantages of renewable resources providing energy in the future?
if i can get any ideas or anwsers
please and thank you