Renewable energy is a form of energy that is derived from a source that can be replenished naturally throughout time. Zero-carbon energy sources like wind, tidal, geothermal heat, sunlight, rain, and waves are examples of renewable energy. This renewable source of energy competes with fossil fuels, which have a lower rate of replenishment than their rate of consumption. In our essay on the benefits and drawbacks of conventional sources of energy, we went into great length about it.
More than 48% more capacity for renewable energy was added in 2022 compared to 2020. The four main applications of renewable energy are transportation, electricity generation, heating or cooling of air and water, and off-grid rural energy services. Look at WeForum’s renewable energy status right now.
Fossil fuels are examples of non-renewable energy sources; once used up, they take longer to replenish, raising the cost of energy. The only option left for the world is to switch to renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy because they are abundant, eco-friendly, and sustainable. The benefits and drawbacks go hand in hand, but given the demand for renewable energy in the future, I believe the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks.
Positive aspects of renewable energy
As you might have already guessed, renewable energy has a lot of advantages. They are generally advantageous because they are renewable and environmentally safe. The benefits of renewable energy are as follows:
Renewable and trustworthy
Renewable energy sources are abundant and have no chance of running out in the future, in contrast to unsustainable fossil fuels that may soon run out. Examples of limitless and ongoing renewable energy sources include wind, solar, hydropower, and geothermal energy.
Dependence on fossil fuels has an impact on the economy because of a number of unforeseen problems, including political issues, trade problems, price increases, and unforeseen wars. In fact, relying solely on wind and solar energy might not produce the desired results at a specific location, but the issue can be mitigated if the plants are dispersed over a large area. Since the weather varies from location to location, if one area experiences any shortages, others can fill the gap.
Benefits to health and the environment
Solar and wind energy (advantages and disadvantages of wind energy) are considered eco-friendly sources because they emit no toxic gases. This lowers both the consumption of fossil fuels and air pollution. Global warming and climate change are caused by greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide, which are byproducts of burning fossil fuels. In addition, sulphur emissions into the atmosphere result in acid rain, which is bad for both infrastructure and human health. These pollutants can also lead to issues with the heart and lungs. Reducing the combustion of fossil fuels improves the environment greatly, making it safer and healthier.
Cost-efficient with little upkeep
Utilizing renewable energy lowers maintenance and operating expenses. Traditional fuel sources produce energy using turbines and generators, which are highly maintained. Because there are fewer moving parts in solar and wind turbines, maintenance costs are lower. Numerous fossil fuels are required to run the generators, which raises the cost of energy production. However, the solar and wind energy production facilities do not incur this expense. The technology used along with the other elements results in significant cost savings.
We don’t need to refuel solar, wind, or steam-based energy production as frequently as fossil fuel-based technologies, which is another factor in cost reduction.
Waste recycling and stable global prices
Biomass energy has a special quality. It needs corn, algae, vegetable oil, and by-products from soybeans to produce the energy. By using these organic products, less waste is sent to landfills and less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. In other words, we gain twice as much.
The use of renewable energy guarantees stable worldwide prices. The only factor affecting the price is the installation fees. The cost of fossil fuels, however, is dependent on availability and the rate of inflation, thus it is constantly changing. That implies that the government must focus on the first expense.
Countries become less reliant on other countries thanks to renewable energy
Countries don’t have to rely on other countries for their energy demands because renewable energy can be easily produced domestically. Producing energy domestically also allows for a significant cost reduction for the same amount. Depending on its availability, any renewable energy source may be used for energy production. For instance, it would be wise to use wind energy to generate electricity if the nation was well-known for its wind resources.
Work possibilities
We can ensure that new jobs are produced by building infrastructure for renewable energy, which will help to address some of the unemployment challenges. There will be a lot of openings since the equipment used to produce renewable energy will need to be maintained constantly. Implementing new infrastructure in the renewable energy industry will be a terrific idea if the nation is dealing with both an energy crisis and an unemployment problem.
Issues with renewable energy
There are other drawbacks to renewable energy as well. We still have a long way to go before we can completely rely on it because of the expense of upkeep as well as the lack of necessary infrastructure and technology. The drawbacks of renewable energy are as follows:
large investment
Installation of a plant for energy production is significant, as was previously said. Hydroelectric plants, wind turbines, and solar panels are pricy. Along with keeping maintenance costs under control, careful planning and execution are also necessary. Costs are increased by laying power lines for the supply of electricity. Rebates and tax credits, however, are quite helpful in reducing these expenditures.
Geographical diversity
The terrain and geography of a location are the key determinants of renewable resources. Every location has a different amount of sun and wind than another. You can look at the benefits and drawbacks of solar energy, where we go into more information about solar energy. In contrast to dense metropolitan settings, the wide space may be windy but not sunny, while rural locations may have more of both. Power outages could also result from this issue.
Disasters caused by nature could potentially make renewable energy systems less effective. As a result, it is uncertain whether energy is available every single day. Another problem that plagues industry is the intermittent supply of energy, whereas fossil fuels do not have this issue.
Low efficiency and lower quantity
Technology has failed to create efficient ways to produce enormous amounts of power. Therefore, relying solely on renewable resources is not practical at this time. To fulfil the increasing demand for energy consumption, we still need to develop more effective methods. To entice investors to participate in initiatives that promise better returns, high installation and maintenance costs must be reduced. The newness of the technologies on the market is the cause of their lack of efficiency.
large installation
Technologies for generating electricity from renewable sources needed too much room to be installed. Solar panels needed lots of land, while windmills needed wide spaces. It only inhabits open farms, which are only found in villages. It is challenging for cities to obtain this much area. Consequently, supply lines raise the price of the energy once more. Energy generation is expensive, but energy storage is also expensive because intermittent electricity needs to be saved for later use.
Storage for renewable energy can be problematic.
It can be difficult to store the produced energy and supply it at a steady level because the amount of renewable energy produced varies greatly. Because of the advancements we made in recent years, there are current technology that make this process simpler. But putting ideas into practise can be incredibly expensive. While it is true that each form of energy storage has a potential cost, it might be significantly higher in the case of renewable energy.
Nature can still be impacted.
It is true that switching to renewable energy can be much better for the environment than relying on other traditional energy sources. However, the implementation will still have certain negative effects. For instance, the land needed to generate even a little amount of energy from wind using windmills is hundreds of times bigger. Because we are playing on a huge scale with the area’s natural habitat, this could harm the ecosystem in the area.
When we weigh the benefits and drawbacks of renewable energy, we discover that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. It provides a clean and safe atmosphere, and it also saves money, which are both significant factors.
