Inherently unreliable and energy-dilute, sunlight and wind are. As a result, putting huge amounts of solar panels and wind turbines on the grid raises the cost of power generation, locks in fossil fuels, and increases the environmental impact of energy production.
Why are solar and wind energy so underutilized?
It is becoming more widely recognized that renewable energy sources are considerably better for the environment in many ways than their non-renewable, fossil fuel counterparts. They don’t require nearly as much extraction as fossil fuels, if at all, and some are classified as “clean,” meaning they have little to no environmental impact when converted to power.
Why haven’t we all switched to renewable energy sources if clean energy is so beneficial? Why don’t we make more of an effort to employ renewable energy sources? Let’s have a look.
Why don’t we usemore renewable sources of energy?
In terms of individual countries, transitioning from one energy source to another will surely take time as new power plants and infrastructure are built.
Switching to renewable energy doesn’t just entail that a group of people decides on a new way to power their houses; it also implies that entire businesses rethink how they earn money and where they get their energy. It would necessitate the transformation of millions of homes, schools, companies, public buildings, and transportation hubs and this does not happen overnight.
Renewable energy sources currently account for only around 8% of US energy consumption and roughly 14% of global energy requirements. This is primarily due to the fact that the technology required to produce vast amounts of renewable energy took time to develop, and most of our engines and systems were designed to run on fossil fuels.
Why don’t we make better use of solar energy?
Solar power may be better for the environment, but it isn’t without its flaws. While that may seem strange given that the light shines in some form every day, it’s because our solar panels can only create electricity on clear sunny days.
To run a home or business solely on solar energy, the owners would need to live in a sunny area and store excess energy in batteries for gloomy or rainy days. While technology is rapidly progressing, and some scientists have had success with panels that can create electricity even on overcast days, this is clearly insufficient to power a nation.
Solar panels on our homes and anywhere else are extremely expensive to install, so while we will undoubtedly see more new buildings with solar panels on their roofs, it will be some time before there are enough to make a meaningful contribution to the power system.
However, in the meanwhile, we can examine our particular efforts more closely. Companies like Inspire are dedicated to a world powered by renewable energy and making the transition as simple as possible. Learn more about Inspire, a renewable energy company dedicated to providing sustainable energy to homes.
Where do most forms of renewable energy come from?
Renewable energy is typically derived from non-depleting natural resources. They are a more environmentally friendly option, but they are newer and more expensive to install than fossil fuels like coal, gas, and oil. Wind, solar, and tidal energy are all renewable energy sources that come from the wind, the sun, and the sea, respectively.
Other less-green renewable sources, such as biomass fuel, are also exploited. This is manufactured from discarded agricultural by-products and natural ingredients. While burning them produces toxic fumes, obtaining them is simple, and there will always be more.
What are the advantages of using renewable energy more often?
While renewable energy is difficult to generate in our houses on our own, especially if we live in a city, it has numerous benefits for all of us: Environmentally friendly: Using energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal reduces CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.
– Improves our health: It is not only good for the environment, but it is also good for our health. We are less likely to develop pollution-related respiratory diseases like asthma if fewer gases are emitted. – Reduces water waste: Renewable energy sources reduce massive amounts of water waste each year and pose significantly less of a hazard to parts of the world prone to flooding and drought. – It generates employment: Solar power and wind power, for example, are big employment creators. Wind turbine technicians are the fastest-growing occupation in the United States, with solar photovoltaic installers coming in third. This trend will only accelerate as we shift more to renewable energy sources in order to mitigate environmental damage and discover alternatives to finite fossil fuels. – Fossil fuels are running out: Experts estimate that we only have 50-150 years of fossil fuels left to utilize, so we need to find alternatives as quickly as possible and use them to power our daily life before we run out.
Other contributions that we can make on our own are also possible. Learn about the advantages of renewable energy and how Inspire can help you make the switch.
What are the disadvantages of using renewable energy more often?
– It can be expensive: As with any technology that has been around for a while, fossil fuels are significantly less expensive to fund. When calculating the cost of installing solar panels, for example, one must factor in the cost of purchasing each piece of equipment, shipping it to the installation site, and maintaining it after it is up and running. Governments in some countries are presently providing subsidies to encourage citizens to invest in renewable energy, but this is unfortunately not the case worldwide. – It still pollutes the environment indirectly: Wind turbines and solar panels require a lot of equipment and parts that have to be shipped across the county, if not the world. Long-distance transportation is obviously a source of pollution, though it pales in comparison to the long-term consequences of fossil fuel extraction. – There are certain geographical restrictions: Wind energy can only be used in places where there is a lot of wind. Wind farms are most commonly found on the tops of hills or offshore, although even in these locations, sustained high-speed winds cannot be guaranteed. Hydroelectric dams and wave turbines can only be constructed in specified regions, and current solar panels can only collect energy when positioned in direct sunlight. – Biomass continues to be harmful: In dry nations with huge desert areas, biomass requires a significant amount of vegetative waste to be sustainable, making it practically difficult to create electricity from it. Although burning trash to generate energy reduces landfill waste, it still emits dangerous pollutants. – Renewable energy is difficult to store: Although fossil fuels are damaging to the environment and will eventually run out, they can meet the demand for a steady supply of energy. Fossil fuels may be stored and used to generate electricity at a later time, whereas renewable energy sources require massive batteries to store any excess electricity they generate.
– Takes up a lot of space: Renewable energy necessitates the utilization of a lot of land. Wind turbines must be evenly placed throughout farms, therefore they can’t be packed into tight places. Solar plants are the same way; they take up a lot more room and aren’t as efficient as typical power plants. – People are unaware of renewable energy sources: There is a scarcity of information regarding sustainable energy. Renewable energy, like other new technological developments, is not as widely employed as fossil fuels simply because people are unaware of it. People are far less likely to employ renewable energy sources in their homes if they are unaware that they exist or that they might choose to use them. As we learn more about how to safeguard the environment, this lack of understanding is becoming less of an issue. Even still, most people are unaware of the difference that could be achieved if everyone switched to renewable energy utility companies.
Why don’t we use more renewable energy? It all comes down to cost and infrastructure
Finally, the most significant impediment to the development of renewable energy is its high cost and logistical challenges. We will see a surge in popularity and utilization of renewable energy sources as the infrastructure for them improves.
While there are significantly more ecologically friendly energy sources than environmentally harmful energy options, fossil fuels are still cheaper, more reliable, and have been around for longer. Green energy, according to many environmental scientists, will become more widely employed and hence more accessible in the future. This will necessitate a significant increase in public awareness of renewable energy sources as well as a global readiness to invest.
Renewable energy sources that are as economical and reliable as their less ecologically friendly rivals would be great. Using renewable energy through energy companies is the most environmentally responsible choice we can make till such a transition is made. As more consumers choose such enterprises, demand for wind, geothermal, and solar energy will rise, increasing the amount of clean energy available on the grid.
How you can make the switch to renewable energy
The good news is that renewable energy does not have to come to you. Inspire is committed to providing sustainable energy to our consumers that is healthy for the environment, our health, and our future.
Are you unsure if renewable energy is the correct choice for you? See how we’ve assisted clients in making the switch by reading the most recent Inspire Energy reviews.
Efficiency
One of the main sources of anxiety when switching to solar electricity is this. Solar panels are capable of converting 15-40% of the sun’s energy into power. On the surface, this appears to be inefficient, yet it is similar to any other alternative source of energy production. Except for a handful, which we’ll discuss later.
Even if big companies like First Solar improve their efficiency by a few percentage points, it’s still not enough to create a compelling case for solar energy. At least not in its current state.
Practicality
Solar power has a few drawbacks in terms of practicality. The first is that it is not possible to generate it at night. Furthermore, if there is more cloud cover than usual, solar power generation becomes more difficult. There are sun-tracking panels with motors and sensors that can move themselves to a location where there is plenty of sunshine, but these add to the overall cost.
Even the most “clean” source of energy will be rejected if costs cannot be managed.
Another aspect to consider is the practicality of the situation. Solar energy research and development isn’t cheap, and solar farm installation and production prices are astronomical.
Environmental Impact
Even while solar power is regarded to be clean (and it is for the most part), there are some reservations about these assertions. The first is the case for solar panel manufacturing, which produces harmful pollutants. The usage of Cadmium in the process is the second, and more serious, issue.
Cadmium is a poisonous heavy metal that tends to build up in ecological food chains. Even though current strategies for reducing Cadmium emissions are effective, it is still used at a rate of 510 g/m2.
Is it true that solar and wind energy are unreliable?
The fundamental issue in California wasn’t a shortage of power generation, but rather a lack of investment in batteries to store wind and solar energy.
Battery technology developments, according to Usher, have made renewable energy more reliable.
“When it’s windy and sunny,” Usher added, “wind and solar have always been reliable providers of power.” In the past, it was the storage part of the equation that made them less dependable.
“Energy storage mostly in the form of batteries is increasingly being linked with wind and solar projects, making renewable sources more reliable by resolving the intermittency of wind and solar power output,” Usher added.
Why are renewable energy sources still inconvenient?
Renewable energy is likewise not totally reliable, despite the fact that it is long-term. We have no control over when or how much we receive. It is frequently reliant on weather, such as the sun or water. Hydroelectric engines, for example, require rain, wind turbines require air movement, and solar panels require sunlight.
Cost
The cost of purchasing a solar system is relatively expensive at first. Solar panels, inverters, batteries, wiring, and installation are all included in this cost. Nonetheless, because solar technology is continually improving, it’s realistic to predict that prices will continue to fall in the future.
Weather-Dependent
Although solar energy can be collected during overcast and rainy days, the solar system’s efficiency is reduced. Solar panels must be exposed to sunlight in order to collect solar energy. As a result, a couple of overcast, rainy days can have a significant impact on the energy system. It’s also important to remember that solar energy cannot be collected at night.
Thermodynamic panels, on the other hand, are an option to consider if you need your water heating solution to work at night or during the winter.
Check out our video for a breakdown of how effective solar panels are in the winter:
Is solar energy a viable option?
Solar energy, unlike other forms of alternative energy such as wind energy, which requires big open regions with plenty of wind, and hydroelectric power, which requires a substantial water source, may be used in almost any environment. As a result, solar energy is the most adaptable clean alternative energy source. Solar panels are always operating, even on overcast days or in climates where there isn’t as much regular light exposure. Solar energy is a terrific investment no matter where you live.
Solar electricity can be sold back to the grid
You may be qualified for net metering depending on where you reside. Net metering is a method of electric invoicing that allows you to store excess energy generated by your solar panels on the grid. Net metering credits you for the energy your solar panels produce that you don’t use. This means you might potentially get a credit on your bill for unused energy, effectively selling solar energy back to the grid.
What is the most serious issue with solar energy?
One of the most significant drawbacks of solar energy technology is that it only generates energy when the sun is shining. As a result, the supply may be disrupted at night and on overcast days. Extremely sunny days can actually yield excess capacity, therefore the deficit caused by this interruption would not be a concern if there were low-cost ways of storing energy. As the world’s solar power capacity grows, countries like Japan and other solar energy technology pioneers are concentrating on producing appropriate energy storage to address the problem.
Where may solar energy be used?
This early solar charger harnesses the sun’s energy to power portable electronic devices. If you’re a regular plant, sunlight is a fantastic source of energy. Sugars are made by plants using the energy from the sun.
What are the three drawbacks of wind energy?
- Wind turbines convert wind energy into useful power by spinning a generator, which is spun by the wind movement.
- Wind energy has several advantages: it does not emit greenhouse gases, it is renewable, it is space-efficient, it produces inexpensive energy, and it encourages employment growth.
- Wind energy has a number of drawbacks, including its unpredictability, the damage it poses to animals, the low-level noise it produces, the fact that it is not visually beautiful, and the fact that there are only a few areas ideal for wind turbines.
- The wind business has developed significantly over the last few decades, and it appears that this trend will continue.