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Why Use Renewable Energy?
Today we primarily use fossil fuels to heat and power our homes and fuel our cars. It's convenient to use coal, oil, and natural gas for meeting our energy needs, but we have a limited supply of these fuels on the Earth. We're using them much more rapidly than they are being created. Eventually, they will run out. And because of safety concerns and waste disposal problems, the United States will retire much of its nuclear capacity by 2020. In the meantime, the nation's energy needs are expected to grow by 33 percent during the next 20 years. Renewable energy can help fill the gap.
Even if we had an unlimited supply of fossil fuels, using renewable energy is better for the environment. We often call renewable energy technologies "clean" or "green" because they produce few if any pollutants. Burning fossil fuels, however, sends greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping the sun's heat and contributing to global warming. Climate scientists generally agree that the Earth's average temperature has risen in the past century. If this trend continues, sea levels will rise, and scientists predict that floods, heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather conditions could occur more often.
Other pollutants are released into the air, soil, and water when fossil fuels are burned. These pollutants take a dramatic toll on the environment—and on humans. Air pollution contributes to diseases like asthma. Acid rain from sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides harms plants and fish. Nitrogen oxides also contribute to smog.
Renewable energy will also help us develop energy independence and security. The United States imports more than 50 percent of its oil, up from 34 percent in 1973. Replacing some of our petroleum with fuels made from plant matter, for example, could save money and strengthen our energy security.
Renewable energy is plentiful, and the technologies are improving all the time. There are many ways to use renewable energy. Most of us already use renewable energy in our daily lives.
Hydropower
Hydropower is our most mature and largest source of renewable power, producing about 10 percent of the nation's electricity. Existing hydropower capacity is about 77,000 megawatts (MW). Hydropower plants convert the energy in flowing water into electricity. The most common form of hydropower uses a dam on a river to retain a large reservoir of water. Water is released through turbines to generate power. "Run of the river" systems, however, divert water from the river and direct it through a pipeline to a turbine.
Hydropower plants produce no air emissions but can affect water quality and wildlife habitats. Therefore, hydropower plants are now being designed and operated to minimize impacts on the river. Some of them are diverting a portion of the flow around their dams to mimic the natural flow of the river. But while this improves the wildlife's river habitat, it also reduces the power plant's output. In addition, fish ladders and other approaches, such as improved turbines, are being used to assist fish with migration and lower the number of fish killed.
Bioenergy
Bioenergy is the energy derived from biomass (organic matter), such as plants. If you've ever burned wood in a fireplace or campfire, you've used bioenergy. But we don't get all of our biomass resources directly from trees or other plants. Many industries, such as those involved in construction or the processing of agricultural products, can create large quantities of unused or residual biomass, which can serve as a bioenergy source.
Biopower - After hydropower, biomass is this country's second-leading resource of renewable energy, accounting for more than 7,000 MW of installed capacity. Some utilities and power generating companies with coal power plants have found that replacing some coal with biomass is a low-cost option to reduce undesirable emissions. As much as 15 percent of the coal may be replaced with biomass. Biomass has less sulfur than coal. Therefore, less sulfur dioxide, which contributes to acid rain, is released into the air. Additionally, using biomass in these boilers reduces nitrous oxide emissions.
A process called gasification—the conversion of biomass into gas, which is burned in a gas turbine—is another way to generate electricity. The decay of biomass in landfills also produces gas, mostly methane, which can be burned in a boiler to produce steam for electricity generation or industrial processes. Biomass can also be heated in the absence of oxygen to chemically convert it into a type of fuel oil, called pyrolysis oil. Pyrolysis oil can be used for power generation and as a feedstock for fuels and chemical production.
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