Don't worry about climate change— do something about it.
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Renewable energy has become a buzzword in the media in recent years, especially as more people and businesses start to take the effects of climate change seriously and take steps to reduce their carbon footprints . While we all know that supporting and using renewable energy is a step in the right direction, is it as great as it seems? Does it have any disadvantages? Let's dive into some important details and find out for ourselves.
There are two main reasons why renewable energy has become so popular and so essential:
If we don't start switching over to renewable energy, we will simply run out of fossil fuels and be unable to supply the world with the electricity it needs to run properly, causing irreparable damage to the environment and people's lives. While these things can sound like part of a plot to a sci-fi movie, it's the alarming future we have ahead of ourselves if we don't embrace renewable energy sources.
There are lots of advantages to using renewable energy, here are just a few:
Most renewable energy sources create little-to-no pollution. And because air pollution in cities causes significant and even life-threatening breathing problems, such as asthma, lung cancer and lung disease, we need to work hard to minimize the pollutants we add to the air.
Currently, electricity generation from nonrenewable sources is responsible for the production of:
If we can reduce and even eliminate many of these issues, our cities and countries could enjoy air quality that's clean and healthy, improving our communities' health and the quality of the air worldwide.
Absolutely. While most of us probably associate energy with all the oil tycoons and money from fossil fuel production, renewable energy is much more beneficial to the economy, particularly on a local scale. Renewable energy farms can bring new life to rural areas that are quickly forgotten and left behind in the U.S. Where land is cheap, there is potential to place a wind or solar farm if the conditions are right. This can create jobs, boost the local economy and generate more tax revenue for small governments to provide better facilities for people.
All forms of renewable energy can help improve the state of the environment. Even biofuel, which still produces some pollution, helps support more plants that exchange CO₂ back into O₂ during daylight hours. Other forms of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, create almost no pollution at all over their lifetimes. So, besides the actual physical space each farm or plant takes up, they aren't taking anything away from the environment.
Make the switch If you’re interested in doing more for the environment, consider switching to clean energy.There are six common forms of renewable energy that we can support, including:
The renewable energy source that is used most in the world today is hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power is a reliable renewable energy source that is inexpensive, easily stored, and easily transmitted. And in addition, hydropower produces electricity without fuel combustion. The production and generation of hydroelectric power do not release any carbon dioxide or other pollutants into the air like power plants that burn coal, oil, and natural gas. Additionally, the technology is not all that new, and some modern hydroelectric power plants have been in use for over 100-years. Because hydroelectric power emits zero carbon emissions and the technology is relatively simple, hydroelectric power has become the largest renewable energy source in the world.
Top seven largest hydroelectric producers in the world (2020):
There are many reasons that renewable energy has become increasingly popular and more common in countries worldwide. The increasing awareness of how fossil fuel use negatively impacts our environment and contributes to climate change combined with undeniable scientific evidence significantly contributes to the increased investment of renewable energy sources.
Aside from environmental impact, many economic and political reasons have also contributed to the growth of renewable energy sources. First, the cost of renewable energy has fallen dramatically in recent years. This decrease in overall cost has made renewable energy sources competitive with more traditional fossil fuel energy generation methods. In some cases, renewable energy sources have become less expensive than fossil fuels. The continued advancement of renewable energy technology and its efficiency may decrease overall costs and motivate governments and private industries to increase their investments in renewable energy projects.
Aside from the environmental and economic reasons that renewable energy use continues to grow, you may have to consider the political and policy-making decisions that have helped renewable energy industries to flourish. As hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires and extreme weather are becoming more common, there is an increasing outcry from the public who want to see real change enacted to save their homes and businesses from nature-related destruction. Extreme weather contributes to billions of dollars in destruction in the U.S. alone. This fact has motivated many voters to select candidates for public office that are pro-renewables. These same politicians are responsible for adopting the policies that help contribute to an increase in renewable energy use. For example, some would say that the tax credits given for private residential and commercial solar use could be seen as one of the significant contributors to the recent surge in solar panel installations.
Climate change is also making businesses think about how they look to the average consumer. It has become quite popular for American companies to create marketing campaigns highlighting their commitment to renewable energy sources and what actions they have and will take to become carbon neutral. Consumers have the power to choose which companies and products they want to spend their money on. A company known for creating great harm to the environment could receive negative publicity and essentially a boycott from consumers who wish companies to be leaders in the fight against climate change.
Of course, no fuel source is perfect. When it comes to powering our world, we will always have some impact. Here are some of the disadvantages:
Renewable energy is more efficient than its nonrenewable counterparts, depending on which renewable energy source you are examining. For example, the most inefficient renewable energy source is solar thermal energy. Solar thermal energy uses the sun's energy to heat water, create steam, and use the steam to turn turbines and generate electricity. Solar thermal energy is not the same as solar panels to harness the sun's power and convert it into electricity.
Even though solar thermal energy is the most inefficient renewable energy source, it could still be considered more efficient than oil or coal that needs to be extracted from the earth, refined, transported all around the world, and then burned. There is a lot of excess energy dispensed in the extraction, transportation, and use of fossil fuels to generate electricity. On the opposite spectrum, you have wind energy. Once a wind turbine is installed, it will take the wind and convert it into electricity that measures over 1,164% more energy than its original input.
As renewable energy technology continues to become more advanced, the question of whether renewable or nonrenewable energy is more efficient will not even be a debate anymore. Renewable energy is already more efficient, and it will continue to increase that efficiency into the future.
Renewable energy isn't expensive to generate, but getting the infrastructure in place can be a costly process. So, while renewable energy will likely be cheaper for the consumer in the future, it's going to take time and financial resources to get everything up and running.
The price of producing electricity from renewable energy sources has decreased dramatically in the last decade. Specifically, the cost of large-scale solar projects has fallen over 85% in the previous decade. Over the same period, we also can see a reduction in the price of installing and constructing new wind farms. The cost of onshore wind farms has decreased by 13%, where offshore wind projects have become 9% cheaper. Because of this, renewable energy is now just as affordable or even cheaper than using fossil fuels to generate electricity.
This dramatic decrease in charge has made renewable energy sources even more popular due to their ability to be competitive with traditional fossil fuels. This price competitiveness, combined with the environmental benefits of renewable energy sources, makes it much more plausible for countries to continue transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources as their primary sources of energy production.
If a variety of different forms of renewable energy are working together, then yes, it is reliable. However, sources like wind and solar power tend to be a bit unreliable since we can't control the weather, so they may not be able to generate adequate amounts of electricity depending on the season.
Solar power farms must be placed with relatively intense sunshine for as much of the year as possible. Similarly, wind power farms must be located in an area with moderately severe wind most of the year. Hydropower obviously can't produce energy without a moving water supply. We can transport coal, but, of course, not the sun.
Many countries have made pledges and strides toward moving their energy generation methods away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. Here are a few examples of some countries that have made the most ambitious commitments and achieved many of their renewable energy goals:
The countries listed above have made excellent progress in changing the way their country produces energy. Their commitment to utilizing renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels is an inspiration to the rest of the world.
Yes, we can overcome them! Ultimately, we will have to if we want future generations to continue to have electricity. Solar panels are becoming more effective and less expensive, as wind power turbines are becoming more efficient, and so on. One of the best ways to help overcome these problems sooner is to increase the demand for renewable energy, so more money is invested.
If you're looking for a quick and easy way to make an impact, sign up for a 100% clean energy supply plan for your home .
Not sure if renewable energy is right for you? Read some of Inspire Clean Energy's reviews to see how we've helped customers make the switch.
Don't worry about climate change— do something about it.
Our clean energy plans are the easiest way to reduce your home's carbon footprint.