I think that since South Africa is an economically unstable country renewable energy is not suitable at this stage in time for South Africa. President Zuma says, "Our country needs a stable and growing mining industry," Zuma said. "Mining has been a key feature of this country's economy for more than 130 years." Since our mining industry is taking strain our economy is unstable. New power stations which are some of the largest in the world are soon to be completed. “The Medupi power station is a new, dry-cooled, coal-fired power station being built by Eskom near Lephalale in Limpopo province, South Africa. When completed, the power station will have six boilers each powering a 798-megawatt (MW) turbine, producing 4,788 MW of power. This will be the largest dry-cooled, coal-fired power station in the world. Kusile is the second most advanced coal-fired power plant project in Eskom’s system after the Medupi power station.” These power stations are also some of the most expensive and i know this because The power utility told parliamentarians that finance costs on its new power statio...
2. Personally i am for wind farms and in my opinion. I think that wind energy has a great potential not only is wind energy very reliable and sustainable. it is also not as expensive as some at the other types of renewable green energy sources.
Our country is currently suffering energy-wise, we have been powering with inefficient sources for years now and the harm that it is doing to the country has started to become apparent. Renewable energy is the only way to stop, or at the very least set back the inevitable downfall of our ecosystem. I think that the next big breakthrough for renewable energy is implementing off-grid communities that use renewable sources as their main sources of power, so that we can potentially escape the energy rut that we got ourselves stuck in.
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).
I believe the only way the United States and the world will see a large-scale transition to renewable energy sources is through education. Right now, it seems as though only a few pockets of people throughout the world are aware of the positive benefits of renewable energy sources. Not only is it better and cleaner for our environment, but the renewable energy industry could also provide a large-scale economic boost in the United States and other developed countries. I believe any negative economic effects that the transition from traditional to renewable energy may have on our economy would be counteracted by the plethora of positive effects that would come about as a result. According to ucusa.org, renewable energy already supports thousands of jobs in the United States alone.
Why renewable energy is so expensive is the capital needed to start producing energy as well as the length of time for eg. a hydropower station takes to build.Due to these facts South africa has not taken the necessary steps towards fully implementing renewable energy into our society we have only pocketed by using the cheap fossil fuel to maximize our profit. .For these reasons i will say the renewable energy is not an economically viable option at this moment. I say this because of two reasons first, the cost of the capital necessary to start up a renewable energy power plant and the provider will only seek the profit in the future which is not what big businesses want to do they are impatient and will want immediate profit to cover their capital also our fossil fuel the means to over 77% of our electrical output, this transition of 77% will be extremely costly and is highly unrealistic.What would be a viable option is to integrate renewable energy into our output of electricity and slowly but surely bring down the percentage of our fossil fuel.The second re...
This kind of power is completely free, right? Why should we put a lot of expense on other sources of energy, when there is a complete free and healthy power? It is evident that solar energy is a healthy source of energy, which will help stop global warming altogether, but it is economically efficient to switch everything to solar energy. Solar energy is capable of becoming the world's future power supply because, it is renewable, eco-friendly, and extremely efficient when strategically placed. Solar energy is clean energy that does not affect our environment.
South Africa wastes lots of money on non renewable energy sources in order to create electricity for example coal. The building of Wind Turbines, Hydroelectric power plants etc. Are costly, but once built are free as they use renewable energy sources. They do not contribute to global warming unlike nuclear power plant which is extremely bad for the air. There is also a risk of an accident such as the Chernobyl accident.
“Is Renewable energy an economically viable option for South Africa?” “Renewable Energy is a source of energy that is not exhausted when used.” “Economical means giving good value in relation to the resources used or money spent.” “Viable means capable of working successfully; feasible.” (Soanes, Hawker & Elliot et al., 2005)
Although renewable energy can be expensive to build, it has less environmental damages in comparison to non-renewable energy. Besides the natural resources such as sun, wind, water and hydrogen, we also have geothermal power, and biofuels as renewable sources. First of all, solar energy is the energy produced when the sun heats the solar panel. Thus, when the sun heat the panels, it produces electricity. Solar power produces energy during the day and can storage energy for the night. Solar power does not pollute so much the environment. However, it has high maintenance cost, and it takes a large land space. Secondly, 15% of World electricity comes from wind. In order to have wind energy, it is important to have turbines to get the wind in order to produce electricity. Tall turbines produce more energy. The drawbacks of wind power are that it requires steady wind and its installations may interfere with TVs, cellphones, and other electrical devices. However, it is quickly built and there is no pollution nor noise produced. Third of all, the water falls in the dam can also generate electricity. For instance, 19% of world electricity comes from water. Regardless of the fact that hydroelectric power has low maintenance costs and does not pollute the environment, it can cause earthquakes, and destroy wild rivers. Only 0.3% of world energy
In chapter thirteen of our book, Environment by Raven and Berg, it shows us just how important renewable energy sources are. Currently the United States of America thrives on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The main problems with these types of fuel are that they are both limited and can be extremely harmful to our environment. They cause global warming, air pollution, acid rain, and oil spills (Environment), and not only that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sources really aren’t even that cheap of a fuel source. There are many alternatives to these all but outdated fuel sources.
Global warming is an extremely important and troubling aspect of the world’s current situation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the world’s energy production is from non-renewable energy sources, which are energy sources that either can not be naturally replenished or require thousands of years to be restored. Based on our current energy usage growth rates, there are an estimated 100 years left before our natural resource reserves are exhausted. (Non Renewable Natural Resources: How Much Is Left, Environmental Thinker) China alone consumes nearly as much coal as the combined usage of coal from the rest of the world. (US Energy Information Administration, China Consumes Nearly as Much Coal as the Rest of the World Combined) There is visible evidence of this happening with the increasing pollution levels. Carbon Dioxide and Methane pollution levels in the world reached a record high in 2012 and are 260% higher than the pre-industrial levels. (UN: CO2 Pollution Levels at a Record High, John Heilprin) Converting our world into a more renewable energy dependent society is the most advantageous and likely method for preserving our dwindling fossil fuel supply while also protecting the world that we call home.
With the depletion of fossil fuel resources comes speculations and debates about alternative energy sources. The world, including the Philippines, is practically dependent on a dwindling non-renewable source of energy. Today, experts are debating about and considering three options: Nuclear, Solar, or Wind Energy. Everyone has been accustomed to the bad image of nuclear energy as a result of the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents above all others. The popular belief is that radiation from a nuclear meltdown is very harmful to humans and other living things—which is true—and that nuclear power plants are very dangerous and not ideal—which is not. According to Smith, et. al (n.d), all the nuclear disasters that ever occurred were caused by human error and natural disasters like tsunamis, not one because of system failure. Putting the false beliefs aside, with proper engineering and adequate maintenance by experts, a nuclear power plant is a very ideal and viable source of energy for the following reasons:
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.
...t the demand for electricity than non-renewable. Also it could be more environmentally friendly. Wind energy, as it can be seen that wind energy might lowest danger and more reliability.