Renewable energy has been a very important and widespread topic for years. We’ve all seen huge areas of land with wind turbines, solar panels on houses and other buildings. But why doesn’t everyone rely on renewable sources? What is holding us back from quitting fossil fuels once and for all? Well let’s focus on the 3 main ways of producing renewable energy; water, wind and solar energy.
Water
This source has been used for a very long time and was the first mainstream source of renewable energy. This type produces about 73% of global renewable energy and can be produced in 3 different ways.
Large Scale Impoundment Dams
These collect potential energy by storing the water in a reservoir, then flowing them downstream into turbines which then generate energy.These reservoirs can store water for long periods of time, so contrary to solar and wind energy they aren’t likely to be affected by the weather. They do, however, emit some CO2 and methane gas because of construction and vegetation decomposition in the reservoirs. They also disturb the migration of fish, which could negatively impact some species.
Run-off-the-river Dams
These work similarly to the impoundment dams, but instead of making a reservoir for the water they let the stream flow through and spin the turbines without forcing it. Because there isn’t a reservoir, there isn’t any methane emission from plants and no need to relocate citizens and/or animal habitats. They are seasonal, since they produce more energy when there is heavy rainfall or melt water.
Pumped storage facilities
When there is low demand for electricity, but excess generation, the excess power is used to pump water into a reservoir. When the demand gets high, the water in this reservoir gets released through turbines which then generate electricity when there is a need for it.
Wind
As for wind energy, there is only one way to produce it. This is using wind turbines, which uses the wind to rotate three blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity. These turbines are usually placed around coastal areas, open plains, gaps in mountains and on top of rounded hills, since these places have a higher chance of strong and reliable wind.
Use THIS WEBSITE to learn more about the specific parts and their functions inside the wind turbine.
These turbines can be placed on already existing ranches and farms, so there isn’t really a fight for windy areas nor is there a need to disrupt any already existing infrastructure. They have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, but are not always stable. For this system to work we would need a lot of turbines.
Although these can be placed in many countries, they are expensive. The higher up the tower is, the more energy it can produce. This will be even more expensive because of the extra materials used, which a lot of countries can’t afford. Places with excess energy would sell to other places who don’t have enough, so if one area has low wind speeds there is still enough energy for both places.
Solar
How does a solar cell generate electricity?
If produced on an industrial scale, this could potentially power the planet for years on end. If this mass production happens, the cost would decrease so everyone can afford it.
In developing countries they are building solar dishes, which reflect the intense sunlight so they can be used for their own purposes such as cooking. This is relatively cheap, so non-profit organisations give them to villages in developing countries.
Very interesting article about renewable energy and you asked the same question I sometimes think about: "What is holding us back from quitting fossil fuels once and for all?", but when looking at the whole topic closer we have to admit that it is not that easy. As renewable energies are still quite new they are expensive compared to fossil fuels, I like how you also stated the problem that all three of these renewable energy sources rely heavily on the environment. Thank you for educating people about the generally most important things when thinking about renewable energy:)
Looks like something you may have been learning about in Geography. Is there one type of renewable energy that has the potential to take over from fossil fuels in the future? Or is it more dependent on regional geographies / climatic conditions / levels of wealth etc?