To Renew or Not To Renew

This week I wanted to shed some light on the different forms of energy sources the government utilizes that are then converted into electricity—a driving force of our country. There are three main types of energy sources: nuclear energy, fossil energy (fossil fuels) and renewable energy.
Below I have compiled a master list of information about each type of energy source. Hopefully this is helpful to those of you who were curious about the differences between each source.

 Nuclear Energy: “Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6 percent of the world's energy and 13–14 percent of the world's electricity.”

            Advantages of Nuclear Energy:

1.      Relatively Low Costs- nuclear energy is cost-competitive

      2.      Base Load Energy- power plants provide a stable base load of energy
      3.      Low pollution- more beneficial to replace other energy harnessing methods used today.  However, nuclear waste is potentially harmful for both humans and the environment.
      4.      High Energy Density- It is estimated that the amount of energy released in a nuclear fission reaction is ten million times greater than the amount released in burning a fossil fuel atom.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy:

1.      Accidents Happen- The radioactive waste can possess a threat to the environment as well and is also dangerous to humans. Ex: the Chernobyl accident, nuclear crisis in Japan

      2.      Radioactive Waste- While the nuclear power plant emits negligible amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the processes in the nuclear fuel chain such as mining, enrichment and waste management does.

Fossil Energy: “Fossil energy sources, including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried by layers of rock. Over millions of years, different types of fossil fuels formed -- depending on what combination of organic matter was present, how long it was buried and what temperature and pressure conditions existed as time passed.”

“Today, fossil fuel industries drill or mine for these energy sources, burn them to produce electricity, or refine them for use as fuel for heating or transportation. Over the past 20 years, nearly three-fourths of human-caused emissions came from the burning of fossil fuels.”

Advantages of Fossil Fuels:

1.      Well Developed- the technology used to harness the energy in fossil fuels is well developed

      2.      Cheap and Reliable

Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels:

1.      Contribute to Global Warming- contain high amounts of carbon and have been blamed for being the main contributor to global warming.

      2.      Non-renewable- there is a finite amount of fossil fuels available for use currently as it takes millions of years for the decomposition of organic matter to take place.
      3.      Unsustainable- spending fossil fuel reserves in a non-sustainable manner.
      4.      Incentivized- One of the major reasons why fossil fuels are cheap is a history of government incentives.
      5.      Accidents Happen- They are not nearly as serious as accidents related to nuclear power, but will never have the safety of solar and wind. Ex. Oil spills

Renewable Energy: "Any naturally occurring, theoretically inexhaustible source of energy, as biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil or nuclear fuel. "

      Advantages of Renewable Energy

1.      Stable Energy Prices- Cost of producing energy from renewable energy sources is dependent on the amount of money that has been spent on the infrastructure and not on the inflated cost of natural resources.

      2.      Continual Source of Energy- Many plans for renewable energy provide an immediate and continual source of energy.
      3.      Reliability- Once in place, many of the renewable energy stations have a constant, and permanent, source of fuel.
      4.      Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions- Almost all of the renewable energy plans emphasize that they have a much lower carbon footprint than other energy sources.
      5.      Micro-station options possible- Many types of renewable energy can be used in remote, as well as urban areas which reduces the waste emitted in transporting energy from major stations.

Disadvantages of Renewable Energy:

1.      High Development Cost- It costs a lot to develop renewable energy stations in both research and producing the components needed for them to be successful.

      2.      Vulnerable- Almost all of the suggested renewable energy sources are very vulnerable to weather and climate changes.
      3.      Unable to Produce in Large Quantities
      4.      Not Available in all Areas
      5.      Large Areas Required

After looking at the overview of each energy source, I have become more open to the idea of nuclear energy. I was staunchly opposed to the idea of nuclear energy because of the idea or radioactive waste, however after doing more research I see that there is potential with next generation reactors for nuclear energy to become a large contributor toward the world’s electricity. That being said, I will always be a supporter of renewable energy sources. What do you guys think? Let me know your opinions on the various types of energy in the comment below!

      Pros/Cons Lists found at:

      http://energyinformative.org/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons/
      http://energyinformative.org/fossil-fuels-pros-and-cons/
      http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-renewable-energy.php

      More energy source information found at:

      http://energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources