Renewable Energy Overview & Information

Overview

Renewable clean energy sources, including solar, wind, water (hydropower), geothermal and biomass, are being promoted as an alternative to fossil fuel sources for power generation. Tax credits for wind, solar and geothermal energy, in particular, have helped increase demand for these sources of energy. However, currently only about 2.5 percent of the electricity generated in the is from non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources.

Wikipedia, Renewable Energy

Supporting Viewpoints

Renewable energy tax credits expire at the end of 2008, and Congress is currently considering extensions of the credits to encourage continued research and investments in these technologies.

Wind energy is used to drive wind turbines or wind mills that in turn drive generators to generate electricity. Wind power capacity in the increased by 45 percent in 2007 to 16,800 MW, enough to serve 4.5 million households. Costs of wind generated power have decreased dramatically from 30 cents per kwh in the early 1980s to less than 5 cents per kwh in 2007 with tax credits. The long term potential is excellent. If the good wind areas could be “harvested”, wind farms could provide one and a half times as much as the total electricity consumption in the .

Solar energy can be used for either heating or for conversion to electricity. Photovoltaic systems convert light energy into electricity while Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use a series of mirrors to focus the suns energy to generate heat which is used to generate electricity with a steam generator. Solar heating systems are used to heat water or store and heat homes and buildings. Solar Power is primarily used in small applications, but has potential for large scale operations in desert climates.

Supporting Websites

Department of Energy, EERE
Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Energy
National Renewable Energy Association
International Energy Agency
Union of Concerned Scientists
American Wind Energy Association
Science Daily
Renewable Energy Access.Com

Opposing Viewpoints

There are no major “opponents” as such of renewable energy sources. However, there are some negatives that need to be addressed in the broader context of energy. While the cost of generating electricity from wind and solar sources has decreased, in large scale city environments it is still not as cost effective as electricity generated from fossil fuels, particularly coal.

With wind power, the remoteness of the best “windy sites” adds to the transmission costs to population centers. Furthermore, local opposition to the transmission line routes across pristine natural areas has caused some to oppose this aspect of wind power.

Wind is also intermittent, and therefore cannot be used exclusively. Nearing populated areas, there is also concerns about noise and aesthetics. Local opposition groups have complained about the proposed erection of wind turbine towers near their neighborhoods. In particular, the Cape wind energy project on Nantucket Sound has faced delays as a result of local opposition.

Solar power’s main disadvantage is cost; solar cells and panels are very expensive. Smaller roof top applications by home owners have a high initial investment and can take a long time to pay out. Local neighborhood deed restrictions may prohibit solar roof panels.