Renewable sources of energy are those energy sources that cannot be completely depleted or which can be replenished at a fast rate. This means energy from sources such as geothermal power stations, biomass, hydrogenation, wind, and even the sun. There is increased use of renewable energy sources all over the world due environmental conservation and increasing technological demands. Technology goes hand in hand with energy since all technological advancements derive their power from the various sources of energy.
The prices of energy resources have sky-rocketed to unaffordable levels due to the high demand for energy resources among users. Certain technological activities such as manufacturing may have detrimental effects on the environment. This brings the need of use of sustainable and renewable sources of energy. Use of renewable energy sources is relatively more costly than the conventional fossil fuel fuels, especially in terms of the initial cost of installation.
Hydroelectricity has proved to be inflexible as far as expansion and cost reduction is concerned. This has prompted the innovation of cheap and efficient energy generation technologies used with wind, solar and biomass as the resources. New designs of photovoltaic cells and lighter and larger wind turbines have resulted in lowering of the costs of energy generation.
Governments have played a major role in the advancement of the green energy movement. This is through research or tax incentives to institutions and firms that generate renewable energy. In some countries, cogeneration is very common and this allows for feeding of excess energy to the national grid. Some companies use renewable energy sources as a means of obtaining certain advantages or just as a mandatory procedure.
Use of renewable energy provides energy security to a country or an individual. It also leads to sovereignty in producing countries as they stop relying on the traditional oil exporters for energy. This leads to a growth in the country’s industries due to cheaper and more reliable sources of energy. Renewable sources of energy are usually small scale in size. This means that they are managed by small corporations (Chiras, 2006). This means that these technologies offer more security since they cannot be easily sabotaged. Money that was previously spent on exports can be channeled to reinvestment in technological advancements.
Renewable energy sources such as solar energy have facilitated the penetration of technologies to rural areas. This has occurred due to cheap and available solar cells which enable people in rural areas to be technological at par with the rest of the technological world. Renewable energy sources have minimized the need of dangerous nuclear power plants, especially near residential areas.
The climate and topographical conditions of a country may hinder or encourage the use and exploitation of renewable energy. Wind energy requires vast pieces of land with sufficiently strong wind while solar energy may be difficult to tap in Scandinavian countries. Political insecurities such as civil strife may also discourage any technological advancement that is usually done by multinational companies (Popp, Hascic and Medhi, 2009).
Renewable energy such as biogas has reduced the high demand for the normal cooking gas. This has improved the living standards in rural areas while having a profound effect on the prices of the cooking gas. Companies have managed to cut on production costs through using the waste for energy generation. This has given many production firms an edge over their competitors and allowing them to use more advanced equipment.
References
Popp, .D., Hascic,.I. and Medhi,. N. (2009). Technology and the Diffusion of Renewable Energy.
Retrieved from http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/dcpopp/papers/RenewableEnergyUse0909.pdf
Chiras,.D.,D.(2006). The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy. Gabriola Island. New
Society Publishers.
