Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

alternative energy resources

Powerful Essays
1194 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
alternative energy resources
Alternative energy resources

What are Alternative energy resources??
It is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel. It is a form of energy derived from a natural source, such as the sun, wind, tides, or waves and are also known as “Renewable Energy” that do not use up natural resources or harm the environment. They are considered alternatives because they can be future replacements for the fossil fuels that now meet a considerable portion of our energy needs.

What Energy Resources are we using now??
Most energy resources currently in use are Non-Renewable Resources which are natural resources such as coal, gas, or Crude oil/ Petroleum that, once consumed, cannot be replaced.
The need for Alternative energy??
Here are some of the reasons why an alternative energy is needed:
First, alternate energy sources are often renewable. Unlike most fossil fuels they are easily available and don’t have a finite supply. The most well-known types of such energy are solar power and wind power as the Sun is naturally the Earth’s most abundant energy source and will be around for billions of years and this is a resource that essentially human beings won’t be worried about running out of anytime soon. Also, wind is constant in Earth’s atmosphere so it can be continually harvested without exhausting the supply.

that won’t pollute the environment as they have few or zero carbon emissions and produce few toxic byproducts and therefore will be helpful in reducing Global warming which since the early 20th century, has increased the Earth's mean surface temperature by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F) due to the burning of Fossil Fuels. Hydroelectric power for example is a clean alternative energy source because water is the only power source.
Common types of alternative energy
Solar energy is the generation of electricity from the sun. It is split up into two types, thermal and electric energy. These two subgroups mean that they heat up homes and generate electricity respectively.
Wind energy is the generation of electricity from the wind.
Geothermal energy is using hot water or steam from the Earth’s interior for heating buildings or electricity generation.
Biofuel and Ethanol are plant-derived substitutes of gasoline for powering vehicles.
Nuclear binding energy uses nuclear fission to create energy.
Hydrogen is used as clean fuel for spaceships, and some cars.

Advantages And Disadvantages of Alternative Energy Resources
Solar
ADVANTAGES:
· the sun's energy is free to use, which makes the process cheaper.
· The process is completely non-polluting.
· Can be used in a wide variety of locations wherever there is sun.
DISADVANTAGES:
· Cost of the panels and equipment is expensive. This will, however, become cheaper in time.
· Can only work when the sun is available; therefore weather dependent.

How Solar Energy Works

Wind Power
ADVANTAGES:
Wind is free and in abundance and we have the technology to capture the power of wind efficiently
The costs for wind turbines are only initial costs; once the turbine is built there are minimal maintenance costs which are involved.
In the rural areas which are not connected to a country's power grid it can be used to generate its own power.
The space which a wind turbine takes up on land is very small as the moving parts are quite a distance above the ground.
Wind turbines produce energy with minimal damage to the world’s environment and produces "clean power".
DISADVANTAGES:
Some pollutants are given off into the atmosphere in the creation of a wind turbine.
Wind turbines can be quite noisy.
The wind speed is not constant and therefore there will not always be a definite supply of electricity form a wind turbine.
Large numbers of wind turbines are needed to power towns, as the largest turbine is able to produce electricity to sustain only +/- 500 homes.
Many people feel that wind turbines are unsightly and that they should not disrupt the natural beauty of landscapes.

Hydro – Electric
ADVANTAGES:
No pollution or waste produced
Renewable energy source
Very reliable energy source
Not expensive to maintain once the dam has been built
Can increase the plant’s production or decrease it whenever there is high or low demand
Water can be stored, waiting to be used in peak times
DISADVANTAGES:
Building the dam is expensive and time taking
The dam will change the habitat and landscape upstream, as much more land will be submersed
The land below the dam is also affected as the flow of water is reduced
Silt can build up in the dam as the water slows down it does not have enough energy to carry the sand and silt.

Tidal Power
ADVANTAGES:
· It is very cheap to maintain · There is no waste or pollution
· Very reliable
· We can predict when tides will be in or out
· The barrage can help to reduce the damage of very high tidal surges or storms on the land
DISADVANTAGES:
· It changes the coastline completely and the estuaries are flooded so any mud flats or habitats that birds or animals live on are destroyed
· Initial building cost is very expensive
· Water is not replenished, it cannot flow away so any dirt or pollution lingers around the coast much longer
· Silt builds up behind the barrage
· Disrupts creatures’ migration in the oceans
· Needs a very big piece of sea to be cost effective
· Not many sites suitable for this kind of power generation; building the barrage
· Only produces power for about 10 hours of the day

Biomass

It does not add CO2 to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed with fuel.
It can be used to generate electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels.
It is sensible to use waste products where we can.
Biomass fuel generally tends to be cheap.
Using biomass sources places less demand on the Earth's resources.
The use of biomass energy has the potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The use of biomass can reduce dependence on foreign oil.
DISADVANTAGES:
Collecting sufficient quantities of waste can be difficult.
Burning the fuel creates greenhouse gases, although only a very little.
Certain materials aren't always available.

Relatively new concepts for Alternative energy Resources
Carbon-neutral and negative fuels
Floating wind farms
Biological Hydrogen Production

Conclusion:
Right now alternate energy is still in its infancy. In the United States Coal, Natural Gas, and Gasoline comprise the majority of the energy portfolio. Therefore, unlike many renewable sources of energy, fossil fuels are relatively less expensive to produce, and this is why it is probably in higher demand as it tends to cost less. However, political pressure from citizens as well as world events is forcing nations to start investing more in alternative energy technologies. The state of California for example recently passed legislation that would expand the share of alternative energy the state uses to 20 percent.
Beyond the environmental benefits nations and businesses are starting to see the economic perks that an alternative energy source can provide. Especially when the technologies that use them get cheaper and more efficient they can reap savings and also provide the seeds for new industries.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Alternative energy source is defined as any energy source that will replace oil and coal. These sources include solar power, windmills, natural gas, and nuclear energy. These alternatives alone will not help save our planet. However, the potential behind these alternatives is exciting and hopeful. If there is a chance to save our planted from more damage, then the government needs to act now.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Any energy resource that is naturally regenerated over a short time scale and derived directly from the sun (such as thermal, photochemical, and photoelectric), indirectly from the sun (such as wind, hydropower, and photosynthetic energy stored in biomass), or from other natural movements and mechanisms of the environment (such as geothermal and tidal energy). Renewable energy does not include energy resources derived from fossil fuels, waste products from fossil sources, or waste products from inorganic sources (Texas Renewable Energy, 2014).…

    • 1212 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alternative sources of energy include solar, wind, and geothermal. Solar power is energy collected from sunlight used to generate electricity, from panels installed on rooftops. Wind power is collected from the spinning of turbines, as you can see in the picture below. Geothermal power is heat under the ground used to make steam to turn generator turbines and make electricity.…

    • 1548 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alternative Fuels essay

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Alternative fuels, also known as non- renewable sources, are substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels. Conventional fuels include: fossil fuels (petroleum (oil), coal, propane, and natural gas), and nuclear materials such as uranium. [ 1] The fuels we use now are finite, meaning they have a limited life expectancy.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Energy Alternatives

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages

    * Alternative energy is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel. In a general sense in contemporary society, alternative energy is that which is produced without the undesirable consequences of the burning of fossil fuels, such as high carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered to be the major contributing factor of global warming.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coal and Electricity

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The electricity we are using is mainly converted by other kinds of energies, especially fossil fuels. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the most of the common fuel that used for electricity generation is coal sharing 45% of the U.S electricity energy, which is about 4 trillion Kilowatt-hours. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are not renewable. Once they are used, the total resources of them are reduced. There will be one day that the earth is running out of fossil fuel. As the relationship between coal and electricity is…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biorefinery

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    of its limited supply, nor environmentally friendly. While the economy of energy can be based on various alternative raw materials, such as wind, sun, water, biomass, as well as nuclear fission and fusion,…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Energy Resources

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Renewable energy is energy drawn from natural processes that are restored quicker than they are used up, some renewable energy resources are biomass, food, wind, waves, flowing water, solar and geothermal.…

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Energy Resources

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Conserving energy is important to our society because it can extend the life time of non-renewable resources. Examples of these are oils, coal , and gas. It also minimizes the use of larger more dangerous and environmentally damaging sources ,such as deep sea oil and tar deposits. Currently the world produces 20 million barrels of oil each year. One-third of that is used by the United Sates. Concidering that only %35 of an oil well can be recoverd one-third is a lot to consume. We need to not only create renewable resources but use them. The difference between non-renewable and renewable resource is that a non-renewable resource is a natural resource such as coal,gas, or oil that once consumed ,can not be replaced. Renewable resource is a resource that can be renewed as quickly as it is used , in theory, last indefinitely. (Encarta® World English Dictionary[North American Edition] © & (P) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.., 12-22-12)…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Nonrenewable energy resources include coal, oil, and natural gas.” However, they are nonrenewable, meaning that these resources cannot be regenerated. There are alternatives, though, that can be used in their stead; some of which are wind turbines, solar energy, ethanol, hydropower, geothermal energy, biomass energy, and ocean energy. The video discussed not only the benefits of some of these fossil fuel alternatives but the challenges faced when using and managing them. The benefits appear endless, but the challenges have potential to cause problems if not properly weighed out and accommodated. For instance, the initial development of the different renewable energy resources can be quite expensive for individual use.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We do have an alternative energy support like wind power, solar energy and moving water energy. Recent alternative energy source is nuclear energy. Those alternatives proven to be ineffective because they barely fulfilled energy needs.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Energy is stored in different ways in energy sources, which divides them into two groups; renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Renewable energy comes from sources that are able to restore the used energy and they include biomass, geothermal, solar, water energy (hydropower) and wind energy (Berg & Hager, 2007). Renewable energy is replenished because it comes from natural sources. Biomass is energy from plants, hydropower from water, geothermal energy from the inside of the earth, wind energy from the air, and solar energy from the sun (Berg & Hager, 2007). Nonetheless, we mostly use non-renewable energy which comes from sources that cannot be replenished (Berg & Hager, 2007). These sources are coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, and oil (Berg & Hager, 2007). Though we use non-renewable sources there are ways to conserve the energy we are already using.…

    • 714 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are other sources of energy available besides oil. Renewable energy has gained popularity as pollution becomes problematic when using oil and coal. Renewable energy is the energy that can be replenished by natural processes on a human timescale. Renewable energy includes wind, solar, water, or biomass (wood). Non-renewable energy means energy that can not be regenerated within a human timescale. This usually indicates the energy source needs billions of years in order to restock to the current amount. Oil, coal, natural gas and uranium (nuclear) are the leading examples. Non-renewable energy sources are often associated with pollution. This problem arises primarily due to the…

    • 2395 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Research has shown that fuels such as oil, gas and even nuclear have a remaining life span of 70 years. As the industrialized modern world consumes increasing amounts of energy, finding non-conventional energy sources becomes essential to sustain worldwide energy demands. There is considerable debate about the efficiency of non-conventional energy and its ability to supply the world. The contribution of renewable sources of energy remains small however it’s a growing sector with expanding levels of investment.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    5. Carbon-based energy sources are non-renewable, meaning they will run out at some point. Most alternative energy sources (wind, geothermal, and so on) will theoretically never run out.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays