What are renewable energy sources?
Renewable energy is energy from natural sources that follow a cyclical model and can be reused or replenished quicker than they can be consumed.
Examples of Renewable Energy
Solar Energy: Energy generated through the absorption of radiant light and heat from the sun
Geothermal Energy: Geothermal is produced from steam and heat stemming from underneath the earth’s surface. This is used to generate electricity.
Wind Power: Wind Power harnesses the use of wind to spin turbines. This creates kinetic energy that can generate electricity
Hydropower: This is the use of falling or fast-running water, by converting gravitational potential or kinetic energy from a water source to produce energy
Biomass: Biomass energy is generated or produced by living or once-living organisms. Biomass materials are burned to produce electricity such as corn and soy.
Renewable energy sources are used as alternatives to replace fossil fuels as they are considered greener and more eco-friendly alternatives because they don’t involve the burning of fossil fuels.
Positives and Negatives of Renewable Energy Sources
Wind power
Wind power has become increasingly popular in the UK as its use has increased by 715% from 2009 to 2020. It currently accounts for 17.4% of renewables’ share of electricity generation in 2022.
Positives
Harvests energy from natural processes
Wind Turbines generate electricity through a natural process of harvesting the wind, this makes it a reliable source of energy, especially in locations that are notorious for having greater volumes of wind.
Jobs
According to data from the UK government and ONS: Onshore wind farms support around 8,600 jobs in the UK whilst Offshore wind farms have over 7,000 full-time employees. As the use of wind power grows, so will the economic benefits.
Negatives
Windfarms are reliant on the weather to generate electricity
Wind farms can only operate in the presence of wind and might not be able to generate as much electricity in the summer, compared to the winter.
As wind farms require higher wind speeds to generate electricity, the placement of wind farms is strategic. This is why most wind farms are typically located around highland and coastal areas of the UK.
Hence why we have Onshore and Offshore Windfarms.
Potential impact on the aesthetics of the landscape
Wind farms can have a damaging impact on the aesthetic of the landscape, visually. However, little evidence suggests that the presence of wind farms has negatively impacted house prices.
“Windfarms have no negative impact on the prices of property within a 5km radius of turbines, and can even push up house prices in some areas, according to an analysis of 82,000 transactions over the past two decades by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.”
Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) / The Guardian (2014)
Impact on bird populations
There has been some evidence to suggest that wind farms may be hurting bird populations.
Major conservation like the RSPB has been vigilant on the potential impact the growth of windfarms may have on birds, as they call for “strategic placement” to minimise the effect this has on the UK’s bird population.
A large peer-reviewed study suggests the RSPB scepticism has merit as the study looked at ten different bird species across 18 wind farm sites in the UK.
Uncovering a drop in the population of two types of bird species, Curlew and Snipe, during the construction phase. Unfortunately, their population numbers did not recover.
Hydropower
Hydropower generates around 0.9% of the UK’s renewable energy in 2022.
Positives
Hydropower is a domestic source of generating electricity
Highly renewable resource given it generates electricity through the use of water, given the hydrological cycle acts in a cyclical way it is unlikely rivers and lakes used for these dams will run out.
This source of power is beneficial as it allows countries to utilise their resources to generate electricity rather than importing fuel sources from other countries.
Protection against floods
The use of dams can also act as protection against floods, as it captures and stores vast amounts of water and release the water in a controlled manner, during the process of generating electricity.
Floods can cause a variety of different issues, environmentally, socially and economically. The UK Government estimates the economic cost of floods in 2015-2016 was around £1.6 billion.
Negatives
Impact on ecosystems
Dams and reservoirs block rivers to form a lake can significantly change the ecological conditions of the water body, with the change in temperature, water pressure, and oxygen levels.
Subsequently, this can negatively impact the breeding of different fish species. For this reason, they may no longer have access to their traditional breeding grounds. Undeniably increasing their potential for harm if an attempt to go through the dam.
Impact on health
Dams and reservoirs are linked to an increase in vector-borne diseases, such as malaria. This is because of the altering water conditions that reservoirs provide.
For example, CGIAR’s program on water, land, and ecosystems found that the construction of dams in sub-Saharan Africa increased the risk of malaria for over 15 million people.
“The results indicated that the total annual number of malaria cases attributable to dams of either size across the basins was 0.9-1.7 million, depending on the year. However, between 77-85% of cases were due to small dams; the researchers concluded that the cumulative threat posed by small dams was 2 to 7 times greater than their larger counterparts. “
CGIAR
Solar
Solar energy currently accounts for around 6.2% of the Uk’s renewable energy in 2022.
Positives
No noise pollution
Solar panels do not produce any noise pollution. Compared to other renewable energy sources, such as wind, hydropower and geothermal.
Domestically installed
Solar power is the only renewable resource that you can have installed domestically.
and run your household directly off solar power.
The UK powers around 970,000 homes using solar power. This is expected to continue to increase year by year.
Negatives
Expensive
The prices of solar installation have gone down 62% in 10 years, increasing hope that renewable energy sources will be more viable for the average joe.
Solar Energy is weather dependent
As with all renewable energy sources, they are all dependent on the weather to generate electricity. Solar panels can generate some energy during cloudy days, however, this may result in a lack of energy produced because of the abundance of cloudy days.
Other variables such as size, number, and locations of the solar panels themselves can also affect how much energy is produced and therefore can be used.
Geothermal
Positives
Reliable
As geothermal, produces energy from the earth’s core, the energy created is consistent all year round. As a result, geothermal energy can be accurately and reliably calculated each year!
Produced anywhere
Geothermal energy is produced from underground processes, that can be done anywhere. It isn’t reliant on any weather patterns or physical landforms. Geothermal resources target locations around tectonic plates.
For example, most of the USA’s geothermal resources are located in the West, such as the ‘Ring of fire’.
The Ring of Fire is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterised by the locations of active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes)
Negatives
Lower Energy Return On Investment
According to a study published in the Journal of Energy Policy, the energy return on investment (EROI) of geothermal energy is about 9, meaning that 9 units of output can be produced by 1 unit of input.
Comparatively, to other renewable energy sources such as solar with a score of 10 and wind energy with 18, this isn’t particularly high.
Potential To Trigger Natural Disasters
Historically, geothermal energy drilling has been linked to the triggering of natural disasters.
Most famously, Pohang in South Korea where an earthquake of 5.5 magnitudes, injured dozens, forcing more than 1,700 of the city’s residents into emergency housing.
Another incident in Switzerland, where a pilot test was trialled, led to a 3.4 magnitude earthquake in the city of Basel.
No injuries were reported.
The geothermal energy project has been scrapped.
Biomass
Biomass is Britain’s second biggest source of renewable electricity. Accounting for 11.9% of renewables’ share of electricity generation in 2022 in the UK.
Positives
Reliable
Biomass is a reliable energy source because of the abundance of biomass materials we currently have and can allocate and grow biomass materials, specifically for energy generation.
Reduces Waste
Facilities that produce biogas capture it and burn the methane to capture heat and generate electricity. These facilities utilise the forms of biological processes in sewage treatment plants, waste landfills, and livestock manure management systems. This can create a reduction in CO2 emissions.
Negatives
Heavy Water Use
When grown on an industrial scale Biomass requires heavy amounts of water usage.
Consider the amount of water it will take to grow, and harvest crops for energy corn, beets, and sugar cane. This amounts to a huge volume of water usage over time, making it a water-intensive process.
Produces Greenhouse Gases
Burning biomass materials produces greenhouse gases in the process, specifically Methane and Carbon Dioxide. However, data suggests that the environmental impact of burning plants is offset by the time spent growing the plants.
Carbon capture is used to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere.
Conclusion
Renewable energy is utilisable to minimise the harm done to our environment. However, certain disadvantages have to be considered when using these energy sources. That’s just the nature of it all.
It is essential that we evaluate and constructively critique the appropriateness of different energy sources. As this can provide a space to improve the methods we use.
The more we turn transition away from non-renewable energy to renewable energy the better it is for ourselves and the planet.
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