Renewable Energy sources (Essay Sample)

Title: Examination of my Community’s Source of Energy
Affiliated institute
Learner’s name
Introduction
In our day to day activities, we need energy for different purposes. Energy can take different forms, and as fundamentals of physics define it, it is simply the ability to do work. One interesting factor with energy is that it can be converted from one form to another. This makes energy to be required for use in different forms. There are many sources on energy, and therefore depending with the source of the energy, it is categorized in one of the categories: Renewable energy source or Non-renewable energy source. Renewable energy is defined as the energy that comes from sources that are self-replenishing and hence they are not likely to exhaust (Omar Ellabban et al, 2014). The renewable energy is therefore very reliable for long time, and hence when it is used there exist little or no fear of getting exhausted in the future. Some of the sources of the renewable energy are sun, wind, tides, rain, geothermal power, just to mention a few.
On the other hand, the non-renewable energy refers to the type of energy that comes from sources that do not get replaces automatically at a rate that can sustain its demands. This type of energy is known to be very prone to exhaustion, and the time scale taken before it gets exhausted depends on the amount available at the source, as well as the rate at which it is exploited. This type of energy cannot be reliable in the long run, especially if its source is not sufficient enough to sustain the requirements over a long period of time. Unlike the renewable energy sources, these types of energy are known to have a negative effect on the environment and hence are not highly recommended for use. As noted by National Research council (2010), the use of non-renewable energy sources has had a negative effect on the environment, particularly with the issue of climate change.
Despite the fact that renewable energy sources are more friendly to the environment as compared to the non-renewable energy sources, statistics show that largest percentage of the world’s population use the non-renewable energy sources.
The tree primary energy sources in my area
My local area is supplied with energy from Georgia power station. The main source of power in my community is electric power which is used in almost every homestead in my community. Despite the fact that the energy that reaches our homestead is usually in the form of electric power, different sources of energy are used at the generation point of the concerned company. The main sources of energy used by Georgia power station to generate electricity that is used in my community are discussed below.
Coal
According to the information provided in the Georgia in their website, coal is one of the highest used products in the production of electricity. According to researches also, it has been found out that coal is used for production of 50% of the power which is produced in United States. Georgia has a plant that generates electric power that supplies electric power to most of the areas of my community.
Nuclear energy
Another source of energy that is used by Georgia to generate electricity used in my community is the nuclear power. Despite the consequences that are associated with the use of nuclear energy especially when the systems fails, Georgia has effectively used this source of energy.
Solar energy
Some of homes in my community use solar panels, although they are mostly used as backups in case of a problem with hydro-electric power. These solar panels differ in sizes depending with the energy requirements of the family. Solar panels have existed in my community for long time, even before the hydro-electric power took over. The role of the solar panels has been minimised, due to the presence of cost effective electric power generated by Georgia power station.
The impacts of these energy sources to the environment
The impacts of coal use as source of energy
Coal is one of the oldest sources of energy used in the man’s history. It is a type of non-renewable energy source, since it gets depleted over time. In my community, coal has not only been used by the electricity generating company to generate electricity but also for cooking in the past. Although its use is regulated by federal law, the use of coal in my community has had negative impact in my community, in the following ways.
Gas emitted affects the environment. The emission of gases as the coal burns, results to gases such as carbon II oxide, which are known to have a negative effect to the environment.
Wastage of water resource. During the exploitation of coal, a lot of water is used to clean the coal of impurities. Water being a scarce resource, needs to be used with care and hence the use of coal as a source of energy leads to continued wastage of water.
The fluid discharge from the coal industry pollutes environment. When the water discharge from the coal cleansing company is allowed to flow to the water reservoirs, it causes pollution due to the hazardous compounds carried with the water as impurities. As the green law of Georgia outlines, the main source of water pollution is chemicals emitted from companies. Coal companies have been found to have contributed to water pollution in my community in the past, due to lack of proper waste disposal strategies.
Another issue with the use of coals as a source of energy is that is produces a lot of solid waste. When coal is burned, it produces solid waste in the form of ash. If the ash is not properly disposed, it can have a negative effect on the environment. On the other hand, since coals is found underground and has to be exploited from there, after the excavation, the remaining land is left with hollows which makes the land lose its shape, not forgetting the possibility of water accumulation and leading to diseases associated with such environments.
Impact of the use of solar power
Solar energy is one of the most abundant sources of free energy. This type of energy is harnessed from the sun, by used of solar panels. This is among the eldest sources of energy which have been used in my community. This is a very friendly energy source to the environment. The use of solar panels reduces the use of other energy sources such as fuels sources, which would otherwise have impacted the environment negatively. As noted in union of Concerned Scientists (2013), there are no negative impacts associated with the use of solar panels. They produce very clean energy and they do not have emissions to the environment.
Impacts of the use of nuclear power
The world nuclear Association organization and the United states Environmental protection Agency have been the frontrunners in emphasising the need to handle the nuclear project with utmost care to ensure safety of the human being. This is due to the understanding of the dangers associated with the nuclear gas. Nuclear gas being a radioactive compound can clear multitudes of people in minutes, if it happens to leak from the gas container. Understanding the dangers of this gas, those organisations, and the government have closely monitored the project to ensure that no problem emerges. Since the project has not had any notable problem, it has not had a notable negative impact on my community. It has provided alternative cost effective source of power and high amount of the generated electricity, which has been to the advantage of firms which needed to be supplied with steady high voltage power.
Monthly electricity consumption in my home
In my community, the payments of electricity bills are done on monthly basis. The calculation below is based on the average bill that I have been paying in the past few months.
Average monthly energy consumption = 50kwh
Household consumption per year = 50kwh * 12 = 600kwh
The estimated households in my community according to latest census = 20100
Total estimated expenditure in my community = 600 * 20100 = 12060000kwh
Is it difficult to transit from non-renewable to renewable energy sources?
It has been advocated that people should consider transiting to the renewable energy sources, and many people in our communities have not yet managed to transit. The process of transiting to the renewable energy sources may not be as easy as it has been perceived, although it has left societies criticised. Realistically, is it difficult?
The journey of transiting from the non-renewable to renewable energy sources is faced with many challenges. The main challenge starts with the technologies required in the implementation of the energy source. Some of the members of the society many not possess the technologies necessary for them to use some renewable energy sources such as solar panels. This makes them opt for the easy to use electricity or other non-renewable energy sources.
Another challenge is that, the initial costs of establishing the renewable energy source may be too high for an ordinary society member to afford. For instance, although geothermal power is a known good source of renewable energy source, cannot be implemented by one person due to its high demands in resources. This makes it impossible for members of the society to embrace this source of energy.
Some sources of renewable energy source lack predictability since they are based on power of nature. For instance, wind energy as a source of renewable energy cannot be very much reliable, since wind operates on the power of nature, it can be available or absent anytime and we cannot control it. This makes it difficult for society to embrace these kinds of renewable energy, out of fear of the consequences associated with the loss of the power.
Lack of proper government support may lag the transition of people in the society from non-renewable to renewable energy sou...