Since oil price has gone up and climate change is core issue nowadays, alternative energy resources are no longer alternative but imperatively necessary resources. It’s been long time that many people trying to find and create new alternative resources. Common alternative resources are wind, solar, nuclear, biofuel, hydrogen, geothermal energies. Among those resources, nuclear was issued by the accident in Japan and people believe that nuclear is no longer safe alternative resources.
The arguments are based on pros and cons of using nuclear energy resources. It will show what is alternative resources and why do we need. Also, it will discuss about the reason why nuclear resources are still needed and advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear energy.
Finally, it will discuss about whether the nuclear energy can be changed to other alternative energy resources or should be or still needed in the future with personal opinion.
2012년 9월 25일 화요일
What are Alternative Energy Resources?
According to the oxford dictionary, it said “energy fuelled in ways that do not use up the earth’s natural resources or otherwise harm the environment, especially by avoiding the use of fossil fuels or nuclear power.
The reason why alternative resources are needed is close relationship with global warming effect as using of natural resources such as fossil fuels which are caused increasing emitting of carbon dioxide. Fossil fuels are limited so that cannot use it forever and needed to be replaced to other alternative resources could be one of the most important reason but it seems global warming is became more important to human nature nowadays. Therefore, alternative energy should be no or less carbon emission and renewability.
Solar energy - Solar energy is the energy received by the earth from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which makes the production of solar electricity possible.
Biomass energy - Biomass Energy is defined by any organic materials that can be burned and used as a source of fuel.
Wind energy - Energy received from the movement of the wind across the earth. This energy is a result of the heating of our oceans, earth, and atmosphere by the sun.
Geothermal energy - the heat contained within the Earth that generates geological phenomena on a planetary scale.
Hydroelectric energy - Hydropower is using water to power machinery or make electricity.
Nuclear energy - Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission. At the power plant, the fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam, which is used by a turbine to generate electricity.
Advantages of Nuclear Energy
Nuclear reactions release a million times more energy, as compared to hydro or wind energy. Hence, a large amount of electricity can be generated. Presently, 12-18% of the world's electricity is generated through nuclear energy.
The biggest advantage of this energy is that there is no release of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbon) during nuclear reaction. The greenhouse gases are a major threat in the current scenario, as they cause global warming and climate change. As there is no emission of these gases during nuclear reaction, there is very little effect on the environment.
The burning of fossil fuels result in emission of the poisonous carbon dioxide. It is a menace to the environment as well as human life. There is no release of carbon dioxide at the time of nuclear reaction.
Nuclear reactors make use of uranium as fuel. Fission reaction of a small amount of uranium generates a large amount of energy. Currently, the high reserves of uranium found on Earth, are expected to last for another 100 years.
High amount of energy can be generated from a single nuclear power plant. Also, nuclear fuel is inexpensive and easier to transport.
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
This energy can be used for production and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons make use of fission, fusion or combination of both reactions for destructive purposes. They are a major threat to the world as they can cause a large-scale devastation.
Though large amount of energy can be produced from a nuclear power plant, it requires large capital cost. Around 15-20 years are required to develop a single plant. Hence, it is not very feasible to build a nuclear power plant. The nuclear reactors will work only as long as uranium is available. Its extinction can again result in a grave problem.
The waste produced after fission reactions contains unstable elements and is highly radioactive. It is very dangerous to the environment as well as human health, and remains so, for thousands of years. It needs professional handling and should be kept isolated from the living environment. The radioactivity of these elements reduces over a period of time, after decaying. Hence, they have to be carefully stored. It is very difficult to store radioactive elements for a long period.
The Chernobyl disaster that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 in Ukraine, was the worst nuclear power plant disaster. One of the nuclear reactors of the plant exploded, releasing high amount of radiation in the environment. It resulted in thousands of casualties, mostly due to exposure to harmful radiation. One cannot deny the possibility of repetition of such disasters in future.
Nuclear VS Alternative Resources
People argue that Nuclear energy was touted as an unlimited panacea, destined to be so cheap the electric companies wouldn't even put meters on houses but since the Nuclear reactor disasters in Japan from the Tsunami, nuclear energy is limited. It looks similar to fossil fuel problems. For the first time, everything looks fine and good. The price of power was so cheap that they do not even meter it but This optimism and excitement was soon tarnished, however, as the hazards, environmental costs, and the dangers of what was released along with energy from inside the uranium atom became apparent.
In spite of these problems, many people still believe that nuclear power is one of the key energy resources because alternative resources also have weak points. Since the alternative resources are too much depending on nature, it is limited. For example, wind energy needs huge lands and it can be used when there is wind. Small countries cannot provide lands. Solar power also cannot use at night and when weather is not sunny, cannot be used.
Both resources are limited and not perfect solution for the future energy. Therefore, they are more complementary relationship.
2012년 9월 23일 일요일
Conclusion
Nuclear power resource is one of
the popular ways of getting energy. It can generate a lot of energies with
small amount of uranium. There is no emission of carbon dioxide. It has competitiveness
compare with other alternative resources as it costs less and does not need too
much land to build power plants. However, because of recent Fukushima disaster,
it became an issue again that still not safe enough and caused radiation
exposure accident.
Alternative resources could be the future energy but still long way to go because of the limits which is too depending on nature. However, there are many ways to have alternative resources. For example, solar, wind, geometric, hydrogen and waste can be the source of energy.
For the first time when I research alternative resources, I thought alternative resources are better than nuclear power energy because it has too much risk but as long as I research about the nuclear and alternative resources, both sources are not the adversarial relationship but complementary relationship. Before the perfect alternative resource technology, nuclear power is still key resource that we can use. Even though, it also needs to provide safer protection system for the exposure of radioactivity.
This article shows some new good technologies or products
but I didn’t focus on other articles but only last one. The last article shows
how we can use the solar power differently. The normal solar energy gathers the
solar with the cell but this technology is different that it uses other materials
which are not that expensive. With using this, developing countries can have
massive opportunities that they can use hot water without needs of electricity.
One Africa country is already using it and the maker want to show that how good
green energy is.
TrustPower, the utility controlled by Infratil, wants to raise as much as $125 million of bonds and roll over existing debt to repay maturing bonds and for working capital.The electricity generator and retailer is considering a $75 million public bond offer, with the ability to accept a further $50 million in oversubscriptions, and will seek to roll over as much as $75 million of debt maturing in September
This article shows conversation between interviewer and Dr Wayne Campbell showing that problems of
using solar power energy and why this one is so important to us. Especially, it
is also telling us that why Grätzel solar cell is important to us. One of the problems to use
is because the cell or silicon is expensive and the battery that we use for the
night should have more capacity as sun is shining only during the day time.
After Japan had
triple disaster including nuclear accident nearby Fukushima, it paves way for
new geothermal plants. Fukushima people also need electiricity which was
covered by the nuclear electricity but geothermal plants will be the new answer
for that and it will be built inside a national park. It shows importance of
renewable energy with green energy.
This article shows two experts at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena
say eight out of their 10 tests on locally produced rapeseed biodiesel failed
to show the 35% greenhouse gas savings promised in EU. Even though, biofuel
have good points of using it as it is renewable energy and reduce some carbone
emission, still have many problems face with. It comes from food so that the
making biofuel could lead to pricing up for the food that is used for biofuel.
This article shows the negative situation of hydrogen cars
for now. It said to have hydrogen cars on public, people should be able to refuelling
from the gas stations or at least they should have places for that but to build
those stations cost a lot. There for it is not easy to have hydrogen cars as commercialized
car. Obama administration also looks at the cold view to this idea and some of
important people already resigned. Another problem is that LPG is cheap and
already commercialized and has competitiveness. The hydrogen system should have
more competitiveness compare with other alternative resources. Otherwise it
might be take off even though it is good alternative resources and
technologies.
This article said we could have hydrogen energy from sewage.
In California, already trying to do this project and 25 car owners have been
filling up with hydrogen produced from excess methane. Cars with fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity to turn a motor, and
potentially offer zero emissions, depending on the original fuel source. As
well as sewage gas, it is also possible to produce hydrogen from wind and solar
energy. But, sewage is preferable because it offers higher efficiency.Other car companies making fuel-cell cars and
only few companies doing research about making hydrogen cars but the Orange County Sanitation District project is showing
the manufacturers involved that hydrogen does have immediate prospects, and
that building a hydrogen fueling infrastructure may not be as expensive as
feared.Most of all, It doesn’t have
greenhouse emissions, it doesn’t have particulate emissions, and it doesn’t
depend on foreign imports. It’s a holistic solution.
This article shows that
the other way of making biofuel with milk in New Zealand. Gull's Force
10 biofuel is a blend of premium gasoline containing 10 per cent ethanol
produced by dairy cooperative Fonterra. Biofuel is any fuel derived from
biomass, recently living organisms or their metabolic by products, such as
manure, forest or crop waste, or even pond scum. In February the Government set
a national target of 3.4 per cent for the biofuel component of petrol and
diesel in 2012. Oil companies will have to start offering biofuels from April 1
next year, and the Government has said there will be no excise tax charged on
the ethanol. Gull was responding to public demands for better choice in the
retail fuel sector. The Force 10 blend will be included in the Progressive
Enterprises supermarket chains' discounts on fuel purchases.
This article shows that Wind
technologies are expected to supply 20% of New Zealand’s electricity by 2030,
according to a new report. The country’s Government has also aimed for 90% of
the energy to be generated from renewables by 2025. It expected increase
of wind power generation in the nation by 2030 – from 622MW to at least 3,500MW
– providing more than 1,500 jobs.
In the article, it took Raphael
Domjan an impressive 584 days to travel 30,000 nautical miles around the world.
According to the electrical engineer he didn’t make the trip to get into the
Guiness Book of Records, instead he wanted to do something about climate change
and show what one can achieve with solar power. Most of boats will use
this solar system near future except heavy ships like cargo ship.
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