As a promising means of producing electricity from sustainable sources like the sun, wind, waves, and tides, renewable energy is becoming more and more popular. As opposed to conventional fossil fuel generators, it produces fewer greenhouse gas byproducts, which helps it combat global warming and reduce pollution. Although there are many benefits to renewable energy, we also need to consider the drawbacks and issues associated with its various sources (United Nations, 2022; Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 2022).
Photovoltaic cells are used to turn sunlight into electricity in the clean and promising field of solar energy. But it faces various difficulties. One major disadvantage is that solar panels can’t produce a lot of power because they aren’t very effective at producing electricity. Environmental issues are also brought up by the production and disposal of solar panels. When they are manufactured, heavy metals are used in the coating, which, when discarded, poses a concern to both the environment and human health (VR, 2022; Atasu, Duran, and Van Wassenhove, 2021).
Another common renewable energy source is wind power. It is done on wind turbines to convert wind energy into electricity. Wind turbines are more efficient than solar panels because they can generate electricity even when it’s dark or cloudy. But they also have their downsides. The materials used to make and maintain wind turbine blades aren’t recyclable, like carbon fiber and glass fiber. These large blades, which can range in radius from 20 to 50 meters, require a lot of energy to manufacture and replace, which generates waste. Strong winds during storms can also harm the blades, necessitating costly replacements and producing even more waste. Additionally, over 1.17 million bird deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to accidents with wind turbine blades (Ferris, 2022).
Hydroelectric power plants use water to turn turbines, harnessing potential energy differences (tides) and kinetic energy sources (ocean currents) to generate electricity. One good thing about hydroelectric power is that it uses sustainable energy sources affected by the sun. But building dams to store potential energy can harm the environment. Dams can block fish migration, mess up aquatic ecosystems, and change the natural flow of water, which impacts the surrounding environment. And dam collisions can lead to terrible floods, causing major environmental, economic, and human disasters (www.eia.gov, 2022).
Although it appears that renewable energy is a very viable green substitute for conventional energy sources, we still need to consider its potential negative consequences for the environment. We can address these issues and ensure that renewable energy lives up to its environmentally benign potential with some careful planning, continued research, and technological breakthroughs (AsapSCIENCE, 2021).
Reference list
AsapSCIENCE ed., (2021). Is renewable energy really sustainable? [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://youtu.be/q0V8-0wqLjg [Accessed 22 July 2023].
Atasu, A., Duran, S. and Van Wassenhove, L.N. (2021). The Dark Side of Solar Power. Harvard Business Review. [online] 18 Jun. Available at: https://hbr.org/2021/06/the-dark-side-of-solar-power [Accessed 22 July 2023].
Ferris, N. (2022). Weekly data: How many birds are really killed by wind turbines? [online] Energy Monitor. Available at: https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/renewables/weekly-data-how-many-birds-are-really-killed-by-wind-turbines/ [Accessed 22 July 2023].
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (2022). Renewable Energy. [online] Energy.gov. Available at: https://www.energy.gov/eere/renewable-energy [Accessed 22 July 2023].
United Nations (2022). What is renewable energy? [online] United Nations. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-renewable-energy#:~:text=Renewable%20energy%20is%20energy%20derived [Accessed 22 July 2023].
VR, A. (2022). 18 Most Common Solar Panel Problems And Solutions. [online] Republic Of Solar. Available at: https://thesolarlabs.com/ros/solar-panel-installation-problems/ [Accessed 22 July 2023].
www.eia.gov. (2022). Hydropower and the environment – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). [online] Available at: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/hydropower/hydropower-and-the-environment.php#:~:text=A%20dam%20that%20creates%20a [Accessed 22 July 2023].
