Introduction
Renewable energy is energy obtained from resources that are replenished rapidly by natural processes (Kalogirou, 2013). These natural processes wind, sunshine, tides and waves, rain, geothermal power, and biological processes.
Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Sources
All energy sources including renewable energy sources have an effect on the environment. Wind turbines change air pressure and cause death of birds and bats from the collision with the turbines. Hazardous materials like hydrochloric and sulfuric acid are used in manufacturing and cleaning of photovoltaic cells used in solar panels. Open-loop geothermal power systems emit and release hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and methane into the atmosphere. Hydrogen sulfide changes to sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere and causes acid rain. Carbon dioxide and methane are known to cause global warming. Flooding of land for hydroelectric power destroys wildlife habitats, forests, and agricultural lands. The running of hydroelectric power plants produces between 0.01 and 0.06 pounds of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour depending on the size of their facility (Spellman, 2014). Flooded vegetation and soil also decompose and release methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Hydrokinetic power uses large portions of ocean space and damage marine life habitats.
Importance of GIS for Renewable Energy Resources
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) plays a crucial role in supporting the development process of renewable energy infrastructure. The technology uses studies the environment in relation to various phenomena and model how the environment will respond to natural and human factors. GIS mapping also uses spatial variables to display social and impacts of renewable resources projects beyond the simple energy output (Verma, 2013). All these information is arranged in an organized manner in GIS maps highlighting important details. This enables policymakers and project planners to decide the most suitable locations for renewable energy development and avoid any negative complications that are associated with the projects.
Advantages of Renewable Energy Systems
Green House Gases (GHG) like carbon dioxide have the greatest impact on the globe’s climatic changes. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, the GHG emissions associated with the manufacture, installation, operation, maintenance and dismantling of renewable energy resources are very low (Sokona and Seyboth, 2011). Hydroelectric power produces the least amount of carbon dioxide at 0.1 pounds per kilowatt-hour and geothermal and solar produce the most emission at 0.2 pounds per kilowatt-hour (Moomaw and Bruckner, 2011).
Solar, wind, and hydroelectric power sources do not produce any pollutants. However, biomass and geothermal energy systems produce emissions that pollute the air though in very small quantities. The wind and solar energy systems do not use any water in their operation hence do not pollute any water resources.
The formulation of proper policies can help renewable energy systems deliver cost reductions. Technological advancements have made deployment and expansion of renewable energy systems faster (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2015). Established resources like hydroelectric and geothermal power offer favorable resources that are very cost effective.
RETScreen Software Analysis
RETScreen is a clean energy decision-support system used all over the world to assist policymakers, and renewable energy professionals assess whether the energy efficiencies and cogeneration projects are financially viable. The software allows access to the world’s climate database based on measurements taken on the ground and by NASA Satellite (Leng and Bourque, 2013). The user first puts general information concerning the project and the project’s site climatic condition into the start worksheet and select standard settings like currency and language. There are different worksheets in the software that calculate different outputs from the input data. The energy model worksheet assesses the proposed case plans. The cost analysis worksheet estimates initial and recurring costs of the system. The load and network worksheet approximate the power load of the proposed case. The emission reduction analysis worksheet estimates the power loads of the base case. The final worksheet is the financial analysis that gives information regarding the flow of revenue in the plan.
Bibliography
Kalogirou, S. (2013) ‘Renewable Energy’, Elsevier, .
Leng, G.J. and Bourque, K. (2013) Clean energy project analysis & RETScreen ® international www.retscreen.net objectives of presentation. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd14/lc/presentation/retscreen.pdf (Accessed: 8 April 2016).
Moomaw, W. and Bruckner, T. (2011) Renewable energy and climate change coordinating lead authors: Lead authors: Contributing authors. Available at: http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/IPCC_SRREN_Ch01.pdf (Accessed: 8 April 2016).
Sokona, Y. and Seyboth, K. (2011) IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. .
Spellman, F.R. (2014) Environmental impacts of renewable energy. Available at: https://www.crcpress.com/Environmental-Impacts-of-Renewable-Energy/Spellman/9781482249460 (Accessed: 8 April 2016).
Verma, S. (2013) GIS-driven renewable energy framework for smart and sustainable cities. Available at: http://geospatialworld.net/Paper/Application/ArticleView.aspx?aid=30589 (Accessed: 8 April).
