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Fossil fuels such as coal and oil emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen oxides, etc.) that get trapped in our atmosphere, heating the planet and causing irreparable ecological damage. Consequently, sources of renewable energy are becoming increasingly necessary to safeguard humans and countless other species on Earth.
The term “renewable energy” is defined as a source of energy that is replenished at a higher rate than consumed or those that are in functionally infinite supply (the sun, the wind, the earth, etc.). These types of renewable energy include:
Solar energy is energy harvested from the sun through photo-voltaic cells ー you may know them better as solar panels. These devices convert the light energy of sunlight into electrical energy and deposit it into battery packs, where it can then be inverted to AC current to power the electrical grid, homes, and more.
There is also concentrated solar-thermal power (CSP), where an array of movable mirrors (known as heliostats) concentrate sunlight onto a central tower, generating an immense amount of heat on one point. Think of it as a magnifying glass in the sun. This heat is transferred to a molten salt fluid via a heat exchanger, which then boils water to spin a steam turbine and generate energy.
Solar power ー as both photovoltaic cells and CSP plants ー in 2020 made up about 3% of total U.S. electricity generation and is rapidly growing thanks to the reduced cost of solar equipment and increased demand and investment. Solar power is attractive because sunlight is free, plentiful, requires no refinement or extraction, and is generally safe.
Its downsides are mainly its size requirements and cost. It would take more than 22,000 square miles of solar panels, or about the size of Lake Michigan, to satisfy the entire U.S. energy demand. This would not be cheap at current prices.
That being said, solar can have essentially no land use impacts by being installed on building roofs. It is projected that one in seven houses will have these rooftop panels installed by 2030, which would help offset the baseload power demands on nonrenewable sources.
Geothermal power leverages temperature differences between the Earth’s surface and high temperatures found underground near geothermal heat sources such as geysers, hot springs, and other volcanic zones. Geothermal reservoirs are typically located near tectonic plate boundaries, fault lines, and other places where the superheated mantle of the Earth is closer to the crust.
In certain plants, a working fluid is piped from the surface down into the earth where it absorbs heat, and it returns to transfer that heat to water, flashing it to steam that then spins a turbine to generate electricity. Other plants directly take the hot water or steam from a geothermal zone and pipe it into turbines, or they pressurize and depressurize hydrothermal water to flash it into steam to power a turbine.
Though not for energy generation, ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are another geothermal technology aimed at reducing heating and cooling energy demands. GSHPs capitalize on the fact that temperatures remain constant year-round in shallow ground (about 12-40 feet) at 50-60 °F. A refrigerant fluid is piped through a shallow ground loop heat exchanger that either transfers heat from a house into the ground or transfers heat from the ground to a house depending on the season.
Currently, only about 0.4% of U.S. net electricity generation comes from geothermal sources, and its projected maximum is only about 10% of all U.S. energy requirements. This is due to the fact that, while exceptionally clean and safe, geothermal power has a high initial investment cost and is location-specific to geothermal zones. These zones have only been found so far in California, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, and some parts of Texas and Louisiana.
Wind energy ー also known as wind power ー converts the mechanical power of the wind into electrical energy. A windmill is located in cleared farmland, the ocean (for offshore wind power), deserts, or other areas where it can experience near-constant wind forces, and the spinning action generates electrical energy that is directed into a battery reservoir. Windmill blades can rotate to account for fluctuating wind speeds. As well, a wind direction sensor can dictate the entire windmill itself to turn to face the prevailing winds.
Wind power accounts for 9.2% of total U.S. electricity generation, making it the largest renewable contributor to U.S. energy generation. Over the past 30 years, there have been several wind-energy initiatives to both reduce its cost and provide incentives for its implementation, making it one of the most accessible renewable energy technologies.
Despite its accessibility, there are several downsides to wind energy. It is somewhat location-dependent, as not all places are suitable for wind farms. As well, windmills produce low-level noise, they can pose threats to certain wildlife, and they are more unreliable and prone to failure due to the high-strain environment.
Biomass energy harnesses the energy found in plants, animals, and their derivatives that originally came from the sun. Up until the Industrial Revolution, biomass energy was the largest contributor to U.S. energy consumption, and it still has immense value today thanks to the large amount of organic byproducts like industrial oils, sewage, agricultural waste, wood waste, and more. Though not often used to generate electricity due to its low per-unit energy density, it is highly useful for heating homes and as fuel for petrochemical-based equipment.
Biomass energy produced about 4.8 quadrillion BTUs in 2021, which is roughly equivalent to 5% of all U.S. energy consumption. Over 2.3 quadrillion BTUs from that were from biomass-derived biofuels (mainly ethanol), while the rest was from wood and wood derivatives, agricultural bioproducts, and waste from animals and humans.
Biomass is plentiful, renewable, cheap (often free), and is a clever means of upcycling what would otherwise rot in a landfill. It does produce emissions when burned, however, and it must be harvested from carbon sinks such as trees, plants, and other protectants that when harvested contribute to deforestation and therefore climate change.
Like wind power, hydropower ー also known as hydroelectric energy ー converts the kinetic energy of flowing water into electrical energy. Water gains a lot of energy moving downhill, and so hydropower leverages both elevation and flow speed to maximize energy collection. The most famous hydropower plant is the dam, which meters the flow of water from a large reservoir at high elevation through turbines at lower elevation to spin a generator and produce electrical energy. There are also diversion or “run-of-river” plants that take some portions of river and dam water and channels it through a canal to a powerhouse at lower elevation, generating electricity.
Hydropower has an interesting secondary use: by pumping water in the reverse direction (i.e. from low to high elevation), power from other sources can be stored in a kind of mechanical, water-based battery. This so-called “pumped storage” hydropower functions in low electricity demand, where excess power from solar, wind, and other sources, is diverted to pumps that move water up in elevation. When demand returns, this water flows back down the dam and generates electricity. Pumped storage optimizes both hydro power and other renewable efficiencies, and it is an ingenious means of increasing storage capacity without additional chemical batteries.
Hydroelectric power is the largest source of renewable energy in the United States, accounting for 31.5% of all energy generated from renewables; however, it only accounts for about 6.3% of total U.S. energy generation. Hydropower is clean, cost-effective, a true off-grid technology, a stable energy source during electricity disruptions, and helps control irrigation and the water supply.
Hydroelectric power has high initial investment costs, both in money and in carbon emissions. Other disadvantages include its tendency to displace both people and native species, its location dependency, its fluctuations with the water cycle, and its potential safety issues when infrastructure fails ー especially if one lives downstream of a dam.
Renewable resources are the future of energy collection, not simply for environmental reasons. Below are some of the key benefits of renewable energy to our modern world.
Renewable energy is functionally infinite ー the sun will burn out billions of years from now, the winds will persist as the world spins, and geothermal energy will last as long as the molten core of our planet.
There is no risk of running out of these resources in the near or long term, and nearly any spot on Earth can capture at least one of these energy sources in ample supply. Renewable energy is not throttled by fuel supply, and in theory can harvest more total energy over time for a more stable and bountiful energy supply.
There is no need for intensive drilling or fracking infrastructure to obtain renewable energy sources and no refinement and distribution requirements. Sunlight capture is as simple as setting a panel out on a sunny day. While some techniques are location-dependent, there are much fewer requirements than fossil fuels, where infrastructure must be put in place to secure the reserve and then start its extraction.
The most obvious benefit of renewable sources is their lack of emissions. Reducing the amount of blanket gasses in our atmosphere is of key importance for future generations. Renewable energy is a part of ensuring sustainability on this planet, as they produce no waste products such as CO2, combustion byproducts, or chemical waste in operation.
Note that, while these technologies produce little to no greenhouse gasses in motion, their manufacturing does in the short term. Solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable equipment require energy to manufacture, meaning that yet more fossil fuels must burn until sufficient renewable infrastructure is built to take over the bulk of energy demand.
Also, wind turbines, hydroelectric plants, solar panels, and other equipment all require rare earth elements to function that must be mined out of the ground, increasing demand for mining and therefore fossil fuels and environmental waste. In the long term. renewable sources cut down our emission levels, but in the short term their production may increase as we switch over.
Renewable energy initiatives offer unique economic opportunities for tradesmen, scientists, and businesses alike. Building and maintaining renewable energy plants opens up stable job opportunities for employees, uplifting communities around the plant and beyond. A surplus of energy will also decrease overall energy bills and related expenses and can help struggling areas regain economic footing.
By moving power generation to domestic sources, the United States will no longer be subject to the demands of fossil fuel businesses. This means lower costs, no tariff and import fees, no need for intense distribution infrastructure, and so much more.
Also, renewable energy increases the overall resiliency of the electrical grid, as power can be generated closer to its application and comes from a more diverse set of sources. For example, if it is cloudy and solar power is lacking, wind or hydroelectric power can offset the loss without any active intervention.
What is the difference between renewable energy, clean energy, and green energy? While renewable energy is defined as an energy source that naturally replenishes at a higher rate than its consumption, clean and green energy are defined as:
Note that these terms are used interchangeably, despite there being key distinctions between them. Knowing the difference is important, especially as more technology rolls out and we start to optimize for sustainability.
Nonrenewable energy, as its name suggests, is produced from finite sources of energy. Also dubbed “fossil fuels” for their origins in ancient decayed biomatter, though this is not always the case, these sources include:
Natural gas and nuclear are technically defined as nonrenewable, however, they are somewhat recyclable. Natural gas can be collected from landfills and other sources of living decay, however, the majority of natural gas in industry is sourced from fracking underground reservoirs. Nearly all of the spent nuclear fuel in use today is recyclable and can be modified for reuse. Since uranium 235 and other starting elements are so rare, though, it is still classified as nonrenewable.
Coal and nuclear ore must be mined out of the ground, oil and orimulsion must be welled, and natural gas must be fracked to then be used in energy production. Each of these resources requires concerted efforts to obtain and an immense amount of energy simply for the extraction process ー not to mention storage and distribution. Their location dependence promotes international trade, but it has also caused many conflicts and can displace populations that so happened to settle on fuel-rich lands.
As we move away from using nonrenewable resources, renewable energy continues to innovate and evolve.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that the share of renewables in U.S. electricity generation will increase from its high of 21% in 2020 to 42% in 2050, led primarily by solar and wind generation. Natural gas is expected to switch over as the primary nonrenewable energy source and stay relatively constant, but the EIA projects that by 2030 renewable sources will collectively surpass it as the primary energy source in the United States.
Technology will also advance. Omni-directional wind turbines, tidal energy hydropower, high-efficiency solar panels, low-temperature geothermal plants, and clean biomass are all examples of technologies on the horizon that aim at improving the efficacy of renewable energy.
Despite these innovations, U.S. energy consumption is expected to rise from 97 quadrillion BTUs in 2021 to over 108 quadrillion BTUs in 2050, or a nearly 10% increase over the span of three decades. It is therefore absolutely necessary that both government and private sectors align on the usage of renewable energy to meet this demand, minimizing further compromises with outdated, environmentally damaging technology.
Image Credit: Evgeny_V / Shutterstock.com
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