What do alternative energies avoid

Even without climate change, fossil fuels are a finite resource, and if we want our lease on the planet to be renewed, our energy will have to be renewable. All rights reserved. Renewable Energy There are many benefits to using renewable energy resources, but what is it exactly? From solar to wind, find out more about alternative energy, the fastest-growing source of energy in the world—and how we can use it to combat climate change. Select footage courtesy NASA. See all of our videos about renewable energy here.

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Flaws in the design of current wind turbines limits the potential of wind power use, unable to reach high altitudes winds. Future airborne technology may lead the way with much more promising reach up to m , where winds are stronger. One of the more costly, early-stage projects include sourcing solar energy from space. The prototype consists of optical reflectors, photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into energy, and a circuit that converts the electricity into radio frequency.

Then, an integrated antenna will transmit the energy back to Earth. In the future, this innovative alternative energy source could meet the energy demands of our growing population without limitations, by using the constant sunlight from space. Efficient battery storage is vital for wider adoption for alternative energy sources. Solar Photovoltaic depends on direct sun exposure, meaning that sizable amount of energy goes unused or wasted because of a lack of in-built solar storage batteries. In the future, hydrogen will be a driving energy source.

Currently, the majority is produced from fossil fuels. However, surplus alternative energy is also used to produce hydrogen gas. Uses are versatile - hydrogen gas can be supplied to the natural gas grid , or by using fuel cells to be reconverted to electricity. Hydrogen might be widely used in the transportation sector, when we are able to come with less costly solutions for wider implementation of such alternative energy sources.

Hydrogen has the highest mass of density of any fuel, making it better for distribution and storage. Its stable chemistry also means that it can hold energy better than any other medium. In the future, creating a supply and storage infrastructure will enable a more efficient use of hydrogen. Future plans for hydrogen include building an underground storage system where surplus wind energy, for instance, can be transformed into hydrogen through electrolysis.

Our current global infrastructure is only adapted for fossil fuels. Building a new one will take years and a vast amount of resources. In recent years, off-grid technologies based on alternative energy managed to power remote locations in the form of mini or local grids. Full decentralisation of the grid will bring opportunities for customers to sell electricity back to the grid and gain control over the needed and consumed energy.

However, the UK is far from establishing full decentralisation due to the vast scale of transformation needed. A number of businesses , however, can be considered pioneers in the off-grid restructure in the UK, such as UPS and some of the retail and supermarket giants. The upscaling of alternative energy will open more jobs within the sustainable energy sector. Growth and implementation in all sectors will require years of planning and substantial investment.

In order to guarantee a future without further greenhouse emissions , we can start by placing more bans on future fossil fuel projects and more strict emission targets. Ramona is a Content Writer at GreenMatch with a keen focus on environmental awareness and sustainability.

Renewable Energy , ; DOI: ScienceDaily, 8 February Stanford University. Retrieved November 11, from www. Report Charts Paths for Countries Dec. The new roadmaps project that transitioning to Approximately 97 gigawatts of wind energy production capacity This is the conclusion reached by a group of energy and climate researchers who, for the ScienceDaily shares links with sites in the TrendMD network and earns revenue from third-party advertisers, where indicated. Print Email Share.

Boy or Girl? You Need a Chickadee Brain. Living Well. View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences, or browse the topics below:. Keyword: Search. The political acceptability of power generated from any source will depend upon the ultimate tariff to the consumer relative to the benefits delivered. Does renewable energy generate affordable power? On a total cost basis, a new, renewable energy, generating facility is often cost competitive with a conventional fuel facility provided that the cost calculation considers long-term fuel costs - and even more so when one considers environmental costs and benefits.

Since this generalization is not true in every situation confronting the policy planner, the policy planner will need to apply cost-effectiveness criteria adapted to each situation. What are the applicable cost-effectiveness evaluation criteria? Any given electric generating technology including renewables may be cost effective in one market or application and not in another.

There is no simple calculus a policy maker can apply, but a number of established criteria will assist in determining the financial viability of renewable energy generation. The quality and quantity of the resource. Quality and quantity of renewable resources may be determined by a government-conducted resource assessment, but private-sector developers commonly have their own pre-feasibility and feasibility studies which can be more accurate measures of the commercial viability of a given project.

The measures of resource quality and quantity are unique to each resource, but for each of the renewables, resource quality and quantity affects the energy input to, and the effective capacity of a generation facility.

In geothermal resource development, for example, the temperature of the resource and the dissolved impurities determine the requisite production equipment. The cost of production equipment, in turn, affects the installed cost and the per-kilowatt-hour cost of delivered power. In biomass, the quality and BTU content of the fuel will influence installed costs, and operations and maintenance costs.

The location of the resource. Proximity of a resource to a customer base directly impacts costs, as does proximity to an existing infrastructure roads, transmission lines, etc.

In the case of geothermal, the depth of the resource is a major cost factor. For the hydro, wind and solar technologies, climatic variations rainfall, cloud cover, intense storms affect cost. For biomass, transportation distances between the fuel source and the generating facility may significantly affect the electricity cost. Government-imposed costs. For the private-sector developer, time is money.

The time expended in responding to bid proposals, in obtaining requisite permits, licenses and concessions, and in negotiating contracts increases the costs of renewable projects. The policy maker should consider policies that organize and simplify the local institutional processes. Such policies may prevent adding major costs and time delays to what would otherwise be a highly cost-effective facility. Similarly, government-imposed taxes, fees, tariffs and royalty payments are all passed to the electricity consumer and effect the kilowatt-hour cost of delivered power.

The development process is sufficiently similar that for many purposes the renewable resources may be treated similarly. Each technology may use different terms for these three stages, but the concepts are similar. It does not affect the present surface use of the land. It may affect the present surface use of the land. An extensive outlay of capital may be required for exploring the potential of some renewable resources such as geothermal and, to a lesser degree, wind and hydro resources.

Where resource exploration is expensive, this may necessitate that exclusive rights to the relevant renewable resources in the area be awarded to the explorer. These rights may be granted for a limited term, but if exploration proves the commercial viability of the resource, a private-sector developer will require that the temporary exploration rights be converted to long-term exploitation rights.

Exclusive, long-term rights are prerequisite to the sustainability of this production. The expense associated with each phase of resource development has a direct impact on the cost-effectiveness of the electricity produced.