Argumentative Essay On Wind Energy

The average American uses approximately 313 million Btu per year (according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration). This is a little over four times the energy consumption per capita of the whole world, which is only 75 million Btu. Clearly, this is a lot of energy being consumed each year. If 75 million Btu is the average amount of energy being consumed by each person in the world per year, and there are over 7.1 billion people in the world (as of 2013), then that is a lot of energy. This energy, however, must come from somewhere. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the most popular source of energy for the US are fossil fuels (more specifically coal), nuclear power and hydropower. Along with those facts,

It is renewable (we will never run out), is free of CO2 emissions and will save money in the long-run. Wind power is created by the energy produced when blades on these big turbines spin due to the high winds. Every year, wind energy is becoming more and more popular. In just five years, there were 31% more wind turbines installed than previously (according to the American Wind Energy Association). 38 out of 50 states are currently using wind energy in various amounts. Some people may argue that wind turbines are too expensive to build, are too costly to maintain and are just create undesirable views. Studies prove that in the long-run, even right now, wind energy will make more money than it costs to build. Wind energy is costly to maintain, however, assuming the money to maintain it will come out of takes, it does create more job opportunities. Even though wind turbines may not be the most beautiful thing to look at, building multiple turbines in a small, isolated area won’t detract tourists. In addition, using wind energy uses almost as much energy as hydropower energy does. Overall, I believe that there are more benefits than there are detriments to using wind power as a source of

Solar energy uses solar panels, which are made up of smaller panels, known as photovoltaic cells. When the sun’s heat waves hit the cells, they are absorbed and are splitted (through fission), which is how solar energy is created. Solar energy creates no pollution and is renewable. These are two major benefits, as the current most popular source of energy creates major pollution and is non-renewable. Solar panels are becoming extremely popular, as it can be used on a small (home energy) and large (town energy). The use of solar panels has increased by 63% since 2013. Possible detriments towards using solar energy includes the amount of space it takes up and its cost. Solar panels may seem big, but in reality they are only 3.5’ by 5.5’ (about the size of half a Prius). Another major benefit of solar panel sizing is that you can have as many as you desire and they will fit in together. As for the cost of panel installments, after they are installed there is little to no maintenance required. Assuming that the buyer makes average income, it will take no more than 10 years to pay off the initial cost of