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Contrast renewable and non-renewable energy resources
Renewable energy and non renewable energy essay
Advantages of using energy sources in south africa
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In this essay I will be discussing whether renewable energy is economically viable in South Africa. Many factors need to be taken into account when discussing this topic, for example, the cost of building the sources and how much it would cost to run the source. We also need to take into account how much electric energy can be produced from these sources and whether that will be enough to support the energy usage of South Africa. The one of the two main problems with renewable energy is the amount of usable energy generated from them in comparison to other forms of non-renewable energy. With our energy grid already under strain, is using renewable energy worth getting into, and if it is, how will we manage to cope with the nations demand for energy? The other main problem with renewable energy is the cost of building the power station. The new coal powered power station, Medupi, being built in Limpopo, is expected to cost R170 billion. That is a not lot of money considering the station will run for 50 years. But can we create power stations run on renewable energy that will be cheaper than the cost of Medupi, but be able to run for longer? This is what I will be discussing.
But before delving into forms of alternate energy, I will elaborate on Eskoms Medupi coal-powered power station. When completed in late 2014, Medupi will be the largest dry-cooled coal-fired power station in the world. The power station will consist of 6 coal boilers, each with a capacity of 800 MW, giving a total capacity of 4 800MW. This is being built in Lephalale, Limpopo. The reason for this is mainly the accesibility to coal mines and water. The coal will be obtained from the Grootegeluk coal mine owned by Exxaro just north of the station. This means tha...
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...form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity generation – 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010”. South Africa already makes use of several sources of hydroelectricity. Our biggest ones are the located in the Gariep Dam and the Drakensberg, with capacities of 360 MW and 1000 MW respectively. The largest hydroelectricity source in South Africa is currently, being built in Ingula, Kwa-Zulu Natal, with a capacity of 1332 MW. I do not believe hydroelectricity can be the main contributor of energy to our national grid. Even though there are more sources that can contribute to hydroelectricity like the Vaal Dam, I don’t believe we have a source big enough to have a capacity that will have an instrumental effect on our energy grid. But this source of energy can have an effect on our energy capacity, even if it is not a huge one.
The use of turbines from dams to provide power was a brilliant idea until water levels started running lower than normal. The water waste from humanity is directly contributing to portions of it, aside from drought conditions affected by pollution, widespread fires battled, and more adds to the depletion thereof. When humanity is relying on power provided from dams to handle the demand, they are essentially relying on the assumption that water levels will always be there to provide it. The Hoover Dam provides power to the southwestern portion of the USA that has a large number of people.
The article “Hydropower as a Renewable Energy Source” (n.d.) shows that man-made dams make up seventy-five percent of the United States’ total renewable energy.
Australian household can save hundreds of dollars on power bills by using renewable energy 2. Australian industry renewable sector will generate investment in
Many hydrometallurgical process and operations rely on energy,these include pumping of slurries leaching, electrowinning and electrorefining and in South Africa this is energy supplied by Eskom which is produced from coal- a non-renewable and non-clean energy source (3). This means that these hydrometallurgical processes contribute indirectly to the air pollution produced during the generating of electricity and because of Climate Change Levy (which aims to discourage high non-clean energy use) and department of energy regulations, hydrometallurgical plants buy their electricity at a higher price than households or commercial businesses. Hydrometallurg...
The year is 2200. The world is going through a fossil fuel shortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energy. Unfortunately the support for the use of renewable energy is weak and ineffective. Unless the US puts forth effort to research and promote the use of renewable energy to consumers, conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy will no longer be an option.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
In the debate of traditional energy vs. renewable energy the clear winner is renewable energy. Renewable energy is vastly superior over traditional energy because it decreases dependence on foreign resources, produces no emissions, and is not limited in quantity. Opponents of renewable energy are likely to argue that this is not the case and that instead, traditional energy is better because it creates job growth, is reliable during all hours and climates, and comes with a lower cost. These advantages however are either misconstrued or hardly outweigh the long-term positive benefits of renewable energy.
The “Hydropower” National Geographic. n. d. a. d. a. d 1 April 2014. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/hydropower- profile /.> “Hydropower as a Renewable Energy Source” naturalresources.house.gov. Web.
Hydropower, the use of water to power machinery or produce electricity, provides the most renewable energy in the United States, and uses alternating current in most modern plants ("Hydropower…”). Hydropower relies on the water cycle and is a clean fuel source; it doesn’t pollute the environment like plants that burn fossil fuels. It is by far the most efficient way to generate electricity, being half the cost of using nuclear power, two-fifths the cost of using fossil fuels, and a quarter the cost of using natural gas ("Wind and Water…”). Also, hydropower is not subject to market fluctuations of embargos, and the average lifespan of a facility is 100 years. Hydropower also has many non-energy benefits such as water supply, flood control, navigation, irrigation, and recreation. However, it does face many environmental challenges such as impacts to aquatic habitats, aesthetic alterations of landscapes, changes to water quality, and interruptions of marine life ("Hydropower…”).
Coal has a very efficient energy and we can able to used everywhere and available and
...e of efficient and environmentally friendly energy source that is used is by Norway. It got sixty four percent of its total energy from hydroelectricity. Starkraft is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in Europe which was able to contribute in building two hundred-sixty-three hydroelectricity plants in Norway, sixty in Sweden, ten in Germany and four in Finland. The introduction of hydroelectricity power plants in Europe benefit in superior efficiency, and a greater environment .
Wind power is one of the most sustainable ways of generating electricity as no toxic emissions are produced; it does not add to global warming and is one of the most available sources of renewable energy and theoretically it is an infinite source of energy. On sufficiently windy areas, wind turbines are one of the most economical methods of generating electricity, which makes it appealing to many individuals, governments and organizations. Due to this it is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014) with a 10% increase in yearly additions installed in 2012 compared with 2011 (Global Wind Energy Council, 2012). However the proportion of energy that can be harnessed through wind power is restricted by the cost of the infrastructure needed, construction, the amount of wind that occurs and that there are only a narrow number of sites within the UK that are windy enough for the wind turbines to be worth installing.
Hydroelectricity is a known renewable energy resource that provides substantial benefits for our wealth, our health, and for our global economy. There are five types of renewable energy we can use on a daily basis throughout our lives, but the most widely installed form of renewable energy is hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity is electricity created by converting the kinetic energy of flowing water. Best thing about this source of energy is that it’s timeless and renewable, which means it will never run out, however we had to figure ways to store this energy. In order for them to harness this energy for other people, they had to build generators that convert all the potential energy of rapid moving water into electrical energy. (http://www.ems.psu.edu/~elsworth/courses/cause2003/finalprojects/vikingpaper.pdf)
Why do we need to rely on renewable sources? Most of the energy that we use today comes from fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and oil. All of these resources are non-renewable, so you can finish one day. In order to have a better world and a healthy environment for the future, people are trying to obtain energy from natural resources instead of non-renewable sources. In the lecture “Renewable energy resources” (2014), Mistry focuses on some advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.