Future of the renewable energy
Our living planet “Earth” is full of resources and we are using these natural resources as our main energy source like fossil fuel, natural gas etc. But we all know that, one day these energy sources will be finished because these are not unlimited and we are finishing up these resources a lot faster than it’s producing rate. Moreover the way of using of these natural resources are not environment friendly. It is very harmful for the balance of the eco system. So we have to think about some alternate sources of energy. We have already sorted out an alternative and that is renewable energy. There is much kind of renewable energies that we can rely on. The most popular and viable one is the solar energy. Solar is a kind of plate by which we can convert sun light to electricity. Another kind is wind power. We can generate electricity by using the wind power. This setup is called windmill. And to find alternate of natural gas we can make biogas by using cow dung and some other more wastes. These all alternatives are very environment friendly. But now the question is how much viable and cost effective these processes are? In this essay I am going to talk about the viability of rural energy in the world, about the future of the renewable energy. Many questions can be raised about the viability of these renewable energies as hybrid power system; nuclear power system has already been introduced. Moreover technologically these alternate power generation systems have to improve a lot. I will be comparing both pros and cons in these issues in different paragraphs and will make a clear statement in the end of the essay answering why renewable energies are viable.
To think about renewable energy we have to think about the sources of renewable energy first. There are various kinds of ways to produce renewable energy in the world. First one is Hydropower. Hydropower means generating electricity, using water. We can use a dam of a river to generate electricity. There will be small way out for the water and water will be stored in behind of the dam. Then water will be released through the narrow way out and on the way it will spin the turbine and that will generate electricity. This is a very old but successful way to generate electricity. By using this way we can generate huge electricity. But the problem of this energy source that the setup is huge and it may create problem for the wildlife in the water. The next is wind power. There will be three blades and the center of them there will be the generator, which will be generating electricity. Wind makes the blade turbine and the generator generates electricity. To get the strongest wind these blades are usually situated above a tall tower or something like that. Using wind power for electricity is very popular because this is totally pollution free. The next is solar power. Solar is manmade plate by which electricity can be generated by using sunlight. This solar energy is expected to get bigger if the technology expands. But now the problem with the solar energy is it is not that much cost efficient and not provide expected electricity. The next one is biomass energy. In this way we can make electricity my using the gas formed by the wastes. We can store wastes in a vacuum place and produce burning gas and electricity or we can make bio fuel by directly heating the wastes. Biomass can meet needs regarding our electricity, burning gas and fuel for vehicles. One problem can occur that sometimes it may result toxic pollution if the wastes are directly from the municipal. These are the various kinds of renewable energy sources that we can use by not depending the natural resources.
Now many people think that our next most dependable energy source will be nuclear energy. It is clean and the fuel for it is also very available. This is very important for us to know about both the pros and cons about the nuclear energy. So I am going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. To talk about the advantages first point should be the efficiency of nuclear energy. Nuclear plants are very efficient to produce a large amount of electricity, which can be up to 2GW. The second point should be reliability. Nuclear power plant runs on Uranium. Uranium is more easy to found and reliable than fossil fuel. It is not like any other renewable energy, which has to depend on the weather. Other fuel cycles also can be used like Thorium. So supply of this energy is also can be long as expected. The last advantages can be it is clean compared to fossil fuel emission. Though it has green house gas emission but compared to fossil fuels it is less. Now to talk about the disadvantages of nuclear power the first point has to be waste of nuclear energy. It has a green house gas emission and a high radioactive waste. It is so dangerous that it lasts for ten thousand years. This waste has to be managed in a very careful way. Second point should be there are some reactors produce “plutonium” which can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. So it can be a very good target for terrorist to get the plutonium or make blind a whole region by destroying the nuclear power station. The last point should be cost. It has a very high manufacturing cost but running cost is comparatively low.
This article is very well written with advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. The writer of this article has come up with the thesis that supports nuclear energy. But I think it is more important to think about our environment. We have already taken our environment to a very vulnerable situation. In this situation we have to take every steps very carefully. We cannot welcome radioactive waste instead of green house gas effect. We have to ignore both of them. Radioactive waste can be very dangerous. If a nuclear energy power station blasts out for some reason then a very big area will have to suffer the effect. Abnormal baby can be born, no crops will be there and many more. Moreover these waste take thousand of years to be neutralized. Where we are going to keep those wastes for ten thousand years? If we get the solutions of these problems then we can proceed with the nuclear energy. Till then we should improve the clean renewable energy.
Solar panels are called Photovoltaic or PV. Photovoltaics were first introduced in USA during the 1960s. That time it was used in small equipment like calculators and small applications like telecommunication. But now the situation is improving. PV has been introduced to both grid and off-grid electricity supply. The market growth of PV has been improved to 15% since mid 1980s, 30% for the last 5 years and 40% for the last 2 years. It has come from small laboratories to large factories. A number of large manufacturing plants have been situated. Costs also have been decreased. Main costs of the modules have been decreased from more than hundred dollars to less than 6 dollars per watt. The electricity conversion also has been increased from 10% to 14%. PV panels are based on modules made from crystalline silicon cells. Soon it will be replaced by “thin-film” designs. Though production of crystalline and manufacturing the module requires high cost and high technology but the thin film module is going to offer a low price and more efficiency. Moreover researchers are expecting a third generation of PV materials may be more cost effective. To reduce more cost PV can be installed as a part of wall, roof of buildings. It has already been introduced that roof tiles are available for commercial use for PV. So photovoltaics are improving a lot it will be very cost effective and efficient very soon.
I think this article clearly states that solar panels or photovolataics are developing a lot for our use and I agree with the point. The most important thing for us will be making it more cost effective and efficient. If we get successful to make it more efficient then it will be a huge step for the whole mankind. In this article it is stated that many new technologies are coming to improve the PV and the use of PV is increasing as well. So if it keeps improving with this pace may be in the near future we can rely on only renewable energies.
Conclusion:
Electricity now has become the necessity of our daily life. To get electricity we have to depend on various kind of natural resources and use of those natural resources is not only harmful for our ecological balance, it is harmful for our environment too. Too much using of natural resources is one of the main reasons of global warming which is our current problem with the environment. We have to think about the new energy source and the environment at the same time. It is proved that renewable energies are economically viable and getting more efficient day by day. We need to take every necessary step to support the renewable energy. New policies can be very useful. For example, in many countries there are new policies that for every new houses, the house owners have to have the facility with solar panels by which they can use electricity for their own use and can supply the extra electricity to the national grid. This is a very extra ordinary idea. Government should have more policies like this. We can make our beautiful planet more beautiful by innovating more environment friendly technology like renewable energy.
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/people/a_energy.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Nuclear-Power&id=1494512
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V7X-47G3P8W-1&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F30%2F2003&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1257979800&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=fd91a5821079ae471b934a1efb15e2ea
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