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Kinds of Alternative Energy: Pros and Cons
from: Lynn KenilworthThe planet today is powered largely by oil and supplementary oil - based products.
Most machines and equipments are run and powered by oil. But the finite supply of oil may leave everything to a halt. Therefore, there are efforts to pinpoint fresh sources of energy. Alternative Energy, as they term it, has given the planet additional options and not just solely dependent on oil.
Here are the other types of Alternative Energy available today:
Solar Energy - The sun is the single most available source of energy that is free and extraordinary efficient. It is touted that capitalizing on this could be one of the finest ways to lessen the demands for oil.
And looking brazen in the future, the solar power can be the primary source of energy by future generations. This alternative energy is extremely available to places where sunlight is prolific and where there are longer days of sun and less rainfall. This is moreover good in places far from power grids.
However, extracting solar energy has some problems. Not all places can use solar energy. Places with high latitude where sunlight is short, places where there are often overcast skies and places where there are extraordinary limited land mass since solar cells need vast amounts of acerage to install.
Wind Energy - Another liberal form of Alternative Energy, wind can be extraordinarily efficient in producing a lot of power, especially on places where the wind blows strong. These places can be shorelines and high altitudes. When used efficiently, this type of alternative energy promises to provide as much as 20 percent of the nation?s great electric consumption. Aside from these, wind is clean and will not ever cause carbon dioxide and additional nocuous gases like that of oil. However, wind does not always blow. When the wind dies, the amount of power produced is significantly lowered.
Hydroelectric Energy - This option is found mainly with dams. This is clean and would neither produce waste material nor pollution. Power is generated constantly and can cope with high power demands instantly, compared to other type power stations. And once dams are built, the energy produced is free. However, dams are expensive and spots for ideal locations can be hard to find. Turbines can kill fishes and other plant life and other water habitats can be misplaced.
Tidal Energy - This works like the hydroelectric, but on a smaller scale. This type of alternative energy uses turbines to generate electricity however; there are many drawbacks with its use. It cannot be built just anywhere. As of today, there are only 9 sites found feasible to build tidal power plants and only two are being used. One reason is that it can affect species of birds, especially the migratory birds. Fisheries could also be affected. Added to that, tides move 10 hours each day and therefore efficiency is very much questionable.
Biomass - This alternative energy may be animal waste, agricultural crops, grains, wood, mill residues, forest, and aquatics. When fermented, biomass can create alcohol. The alcohol produced can be comparable to coal. However, this form of alternative energy can produce greenhouse gases since fuels are burned.
There are other alternative energies such as fusion, fuel cells and hydrogen, nuclear, and geothermal. All these can power the world in the future but all have effects on the environment like those mentioned above. It may produce energy but will certainly bring other negative effects either on nature or man. But then you would think, is oil also creating negative effects on the environment?
Here, we have no choice but to use these types of alternative energy to keep our lives going.
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