Why Do We Need Renewable Energy

Many people ask 'why do we need renewable energy?'. The answer is far reaching. In short, renewable energy is better for the environment.

Wind power is a renewable energy source

Every day we consume energy from a wide variety of sources. An increasing amount of energy comes from renewable sources. Replacing non-renewable energy with energy from renewable sources has many benefits.

Many forms of energy that we have grown dependent on are from non-renewable energy sources. This means that when the energy has been consumed, the supply has gone and cannot be replaced. An example of this is coal. Coal is known as a fossil fuel and is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide. When coal has been mined and burnt, it cannot be replaced. Finding alternative energy sources, ideally from renewable sources, will decrease our dependency on fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources.

When people ask 'why do we need renewable energy' they also often wonder what types of renewable or sustainable energy sources there are. Renewable energy comes from a variety of sources. These include:

Solar power is a popular form of renewable energy. Solar panels can be used to provide electricity on a small scale to homes to supplement the electricity supply from the national grid or can be used to power whole towns. Solar panels are dependent on sunlight, however new technologies are being developed that increase the sensitivity of the panels so that they can generate energy on cloudy days as well as in bright sunshine. In addition to solar panels, other ways of producing energy from sunlight are becoming popular. These include solar shingles and solar roof tiles. Solar power is useful in a variety of other ways, for instance it is ideal for powering garden lights or water features.

Wind power harnesses the energy in the wind through wind turbines. These produce energy on various scales, including wind power farms that provide energy to support a large number of homes through to home made wind turbines. While wind power has many benefits, there are also disadvantages. Wind turbines only produce energy when there is enough wind to turn them, therefore wind power can only be reliably used as a supplementary power source. There are also many arguments over the siting of wind power plants as they are regarded as being an eye sore as well as a potential threat to wildlife.

Harnessing the natural power of waves to produce energy is becoming increasingly popular. Many organizations are researching the ocean wave energy options. Generating energy from wave power is an exciting prospect. Countries such as Portugal have already implemented wave power generators and wave power farms are being planned in many other countries.

Other forms of renewable energy include biofuels. These are fuels that are derived from plant material. Biofuels are made from materials such as corn, sugar cane, animal fat, sunflower seeds, wild grasses, and soybeans. This means that the fuel is entirely renewable as replacement crops can be grown.

If you are wondering 'why do we need renewable energy?' then the long term benefit to the environment has to be taken into consideration. Renewable energy sources will help to reduce the dependency on non-renewable supplies, such as fossil fuels, and this will help produce sustainable energy options for generations to come.

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• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels