Introduction
As the need for energy conservation and preservation of the environment becomes more popular, many countries and firms are now utilizing renewable energy in order to generate power. Renewable energy, also known as green energy, is defined as the energy that comes from natural resources which can be replenished constantly, such as sunlight, tides, wind, biomass, and geothermal heat. Because the sources of this energy can be constantly renewed, it can be said that this type of energy cannot be exhausted completely (Ciolkosz).
Why Use Renewable Energy Sources?
There are many advantages in using renewable energy. First off, renewable energy is environmentally sustainable. Unlike the traditional sources of energy such as fossil fuels which are feared to be depleted in a few decades or so, renewable energy fuels can never run out. Moreover, they provide minimal waste products so they are advantageous to the environment –which alone is a huge advantage in using renewable energy sources over traditional ones. Lastly, it can be inferred that renewable energy can have economic advantage in regional areas, as renewable energy power plants are typically located far from urban areas.
A paper published by Schofield presents further benefits on renewable energy. In the article, it was suggested that the use of renewable energy is a conscious way of reducing greenhouse gas emission, which is a very critical issue in environmental topics as of late 20th century. Furthermore, it posits that there is an inherent advantage in looking for other source of electricity, as it provides countries with more alternatives instead of one, thereby increasing the power output to be used by everyone. Lastly, the use of renewable energy drastically reduces the need to import fuels from other countries, which in turn become beneficial in the economy of the country (158). However, it is also noted in the paper that renewable energy has its own share of disadvantages.
Problems Associated with Renewable Energy
As mentioned earlier, renewable energy is not without its disadvantages. For one, renewable energy has a reasonably higher cost than traditional energy. The main reason for this is that there no sufficient infrastructures and equipment yet for bulk use and production of renewable energy sources. It is feared that in some cases, the resources that will be utilized in order to harness some types of energy sources will outweigh the energy output, which can incapacitate the economy in some countries that use it. A worse scenario is if developed countries decide to utilize renewable energy as a primary source, the producers of fossil fuels will transfer their business to less developed ones, leading to those countries emitting more pollutants and wasting more resources than usual. Let us take the case of windmills. They are highly viable alternative energy, especially in places wherein wind is frequent. The natural movement of the wind causes the movement of the windmills, which in turn starts the engines that converts wind energy into electrical energy. However, windmills nowadays are of a certain size; building larger windmills naturally will cost a higher amount of resources which may or may not be compensated by the energy produced. It should also be noted that coal is considerably cheaper than any energy source; hence, from an economical perspective, it is preferable to use coal over any other sources of energy (Straterra).
Another problem with renewable energy in general is that it is highly dependent on the environmental factor from where it came from. In the absence of the power source, these renewable energy sources can prove to be very unreliable. For example, the aforementioned windmills will be useless without a constant source of wind, hydroelectric energy is reliant on a waterfall or a similar environment, solar energy can only be gathered in daytime and in clear skies, tidal energy requires building a dam; otherwise it will not be usable and the like. Therefore, it can be said that renewable energy can be viewed as very niche, as it also requires to be built in specific and limited locations as well. One cannot build a hydroelectric dam just about anywhere, because it requires a waterfall.
Lastly, renewable energy is in some cases said to be disruptive of its environment. Some sources of renewable energy are said to affect its environment negatively, which can be problematic in the long run. For example, hydroelectric energy is said to disrupt the life cycles of plants and fish living in the area. Tidal energy, which involves the use of dams, can be detrimental in the aquatic wildlife because it blocks the natural flow of water, encouraging growth of harmful algae and stopping the migration of some aquatic species. Turbine energy, while not harming any existing wildlife, is said to disrupt the natural beauty of the surroundings it is placed in, since it is usually found on otherwise wide and clear areas. In addition, windmill areas are said to be very wasteful of large areas of land which could otherwise be used for other more useful practices such as farming and agriculture. Lastly, biomass is said to generate a huge amount of air pollution which is not only harmful but also unpleasant to the immediate vicinity as well (Kelly).
Solutions or Propositions to Problems of Alternative Energy
Despite the problems posed by renewable energy, there is no denying that it can be very useful and productive if used properly. Therefore, solutions should be done on the existing problems outlined above.
Production of Efficient Energy Storage Methods. As mentioned earlier, renewable energy is highly intermittent; it is dependent on the source itself. Therefore, it is inevitable that there are some times wherein the power source is not available. Examples of these would be night time for solar power users, and periods of no wind from windmill users. One proposed solution to this is to build an efficient means of storing energy that is to be used during these so-called down times. When the energy source is available, the power plants will set aside some of the energy to be used later instead of converting all of them to electrical energy immediately. In this way, there is a sure source of energy even if the primary source is not available. However, one drawback to this solution is that storage methods are expensive to make, and they are sometimes inefficient; i.e. they do not collect enough energy to power up in down times. Some more research is required to develop storage sources that are efficient yet relatively cost-friendly.
Utilization of More Renewable Energy Sources. One of the drawbacks to renewable energy as described above is that it is off-putting due to the high costs associated with it. One proposed solution to minimize the cost is to invest more money in building more renewable energy resources, rather than investing in storage. Some studies suggest that it is more cost-efficient in the long run to run more power sources than adding storage methods to already existing ones. Even if there is the issue of overgeneration—the case wherein more energy is produced than actually needed—then the excess energy could simply be used in harnessing the costs incurred due to operation and maintenance of these power systems (Massey).
Improvement and Refinement of Existing Energy Systems. Since the technology involved in these power sources are highly not well-developed at best, some scientists have found ways in order to decrease their environmental impact while at the same time improving their efficiency. For example, tidal energy power systems have decreased the height in their dams, thereby making them more environmentally-friendly in the sense that it disrupts the life cycle of fishes and the like in a far less threatening manner than before. Furthermore, materials which are more cost-effective are utilized instead of more expensive ones so as to cut down on installation costs. In the same vein, maintenance and operation costs are also diminished because smaller and more compact materials require less energy to operate (Turbulent).
Making Renewable Energy More Affordable and Raising Awareness. In order to reduce the high costs of renewable energy, solutions have been put forth to make it more affordable to a wider variety of groups. One reason for the high cost of renewable energy is its lack of demand to the general population. If more and more groups would utilize renewable energy perhaps its cost would be lower since in economics, price more or less decreases when demand is increased. Governments can also encourage usage of renewable energy, such as offering subsidies, incentives, and the like. Dissemination of information is also highly recommendable; a research conducted by Schafer, Lloyd and Stephenson revealed that farmers who are aware of the benefits of wind energy are more ready to accept as an alternative source of energy (85).
Refining Renewable Energy through Research. As always, the best way in order to improve renewable energy systems is to conduct more research regarding the matter. For solar energy and wind energy, this can be done by predicting the climate patterns so as to make a forecast about the matter (Bird, Milligan, & Lew). Modifications about the power systems can also be done so they become more efficient in producing energy while reducing costs. An ideal power system should offset the costs generated in operating them in order to consider them as viable, and therefore development of them through further research is highly recommended.
Among the five solutions described above, perhaps the best proposal is the conduction of more research regarding the topic at hand. For one, it is inclusive of all the other five topics—data and information yielded by further scientific research could potentially improve renewable energy systems and their aspects. The cost, which can be considered to be a primary deterrent in renewable energy, can be mitigated by predicting beforehand optimal locations and conditions. It can also provide insight on the best materials and conditions that are to be used in the study.
Conclusion
It can be said that further research about the topic is irrelevant since the topic is extensively reviewed and it garners little interest. However, this is not the case—if there was sufficient information about the topic, then much would be known about how to make it efficient. Therefore, the government and other pertinent sectors should devote resources so as to improve renewable systems via research, which in turn will greatly benefit our environment in the long run (Delucchi and Jacobson).
Works Cited
Ciolkosz, Daniel. “What is Renewable Energy?” PennState Extension. Pennsylvania University, extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/energy/what. Web. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
Kelly, George. “History and potential of renewable energy development in New Zealand”. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews vol. 15 no. 5, 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032111000700. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
Delucchi, Mark and Jacobson, Mark. “Meeting the world’s needs entirely with wind, water, and solar power”. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists vol. 69, no. 4, 2013, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0096340213494115. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
Straterra. “Straterra’s Position on Climate Change”. Straterra, www.straterra.co.nz/mining4nz/mining-and-climate-change/. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
Bird, L., Milligan, M., & Lew, L. “Integrating Variable Renewable Energy: Challenges and Solutions”. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2013, www.nrel.gov/docs/fy13osti/60451.pdf. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
“Problems of Renewable Energy and Turbulent’s Solutions”. Turbulent, turbulent.be/language/en/problems-in-renewable-energy-production-and-the-solutions/. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
Massey, Nathaniel. “Intermittency Problem: More Renewable Energy”. Scientific American, 2012, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solution-to-renewable-energy-more-renewable-energy/. Accessed 3 Sept 2016.
Schofield, Simon. “Geothermal and Wind Energy in new Zealand”. New Zealand Journal of Environmental Laws, vol. 15 pp. 155-193.
Schaefer, Manuel, Lloyd, Bob, and Stephenson, Janet. “The suitability of a feed-in tariff in New Zealand—A study based on stakeholder’s perspectives.” Energy Policy vol. 43 pp. 80 -91.
