Positive and Negative Impacts of Renewable Energy Sources (original) (raw)

A REVIEW ON THE VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

IJRCAR, 2015

This paper deals with the various environmental impacts of renewable energy technologies. Usually all the energy sources have some impact on our environment. Usage of fossil fuels results in serious greenhouse effect and environmental pollution, which have a great influence in the world. Hence it is important to understand the environmental impacts associated with producing power from renewable sources. In this paper the various Environmental Impacts of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower was discussed. This paper would be helpful for the Diploma and UG students to understand the various environmental impacts of Renewable Energy System (RES) also they can get idea how to minimise the various Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies.

An Overview of the Adverse Effects of Renewable Energy Sources

International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology IJRASET, 2020

Growing human population requires an increase in energy production that will satisfy the daily needs and demands. Conventional energy sources are finite, and as such they are exhaustible which implies that, man requires an alternative sources of energy that are inexhaustible and clean. Renewable or alternative energy source is a term used for any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel i.e. electricity or heat generated from solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass or biogas energy. These energy sources are considered to be clean. Despite the fact that renewable energy sources are assumed to be clean, they pose a significant risk to the environment and well-being of the populace. Pending on the source and the technique use for harnessing, these energies may affect the environment at different stage of their life cycle. The effects ranges from exploitation and processing of the raw materials, to the construction of the plant, to its operation and finally to demolishing when the need arise. In addition, the energy input and output is also an interesting matter to be considered when dealing with renewable energy. Other issues of land clearing, biodiversity and habitat loss, emission of some greenhouse gases in terms of hydro power and biomass, use of toxic chemicals in construction of photovoltaic panels, the amount of energy consumed during the construction and west generated need to be considered as well. This paper aimed to review and highlight the adverse effects associated with harnessing and processing of renewable energy sources. I. INTRODUCTION Energy is a key factor in determining the economic development of any country. Almost all human activities require an unlimited supply of energy for efficiently and effectively carrying out daily processes. Nowadays, the technologies in the world are becoming digital and automated. Artificial Intelligence is taking over the modern industrial and domestic activities, as it provides vast array of activities in a short period of time. Agricultural, industrial, social, economic, health and all other activities requires energy in different forms. These energy requirements force man to exploit many resources in the search of energy that will provide for basic needs and miscellaneous. Conventional methods through which energy is generated or major source of energy is fossil fuel. Several environmental problems are related to the use and burning of fossil fuel for energy. Studies have shown that fossil fuel consumption in almost all human activities has led to many undesirable phenomena like climate change and global warming [1]. Conventional energy sources are finite, and as such, there is need for alternative energy source that not only pose less risk to the environment but also long lasting. Vezmar et al., [2] reported that, unlike conventional energy sources which require millions of years for formation, renewable energy sources cannot be exhausted as they are constantly been supplied by nature. Renewable energy source accounts for only 14% of the total world of energy [3]. These sources of energy are clean and inexhaustible [4]. Climate change is one of the major problems related to conventional energy sources. The increasing concentration of greenhouse gasses, such as methane, carbon dioxide, CFC, halogens, Nitrogen Oxide, Ozone and Peroxy acetylnitrate (PAN) in the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuel is acting to trap heat radiation/infrared radiation from earth surface, which result in rising the Earth temperature [3]. The alternative renewable energy sources are assume to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases and climate change. Despite the fact that renewable energy sources termed as clean and inexhaustible, they may pose a significant effect to the environment in one way or another. Pending on the source, these energies may affect the environment adversely as well. This review focused on the adverse effects of renewable energy sources. II. SOLAR ENERGY Sun is the ultimate source of energy for the whole universe. It emits energy at a rate of 3.86 x 10 26 Watts at any moment, of which approximately 1.74 × 10 17 Watts is intercepted by the Earth [5]. There is vast scope employed to utilize available solar energy for thermal applications such as cooking, water heating, crop drying, and electricity generation through thermal solar plant or photovoltaic effect. It also provides energy for producers (green plant) to conduct primary production.

Social, economical and environmental impacts of renewable energy systems

Renewable Energy, 2009

Conventional energy sources based on oil, coal, and natural gas have proven to be highly effective drivers of economic progress, but at the same time damaging to the environment and to human health. Keeping in mind, the social, economical and environmental effects of renewable energy system have been discussed in this paper. The uses of renewable energy system, instead of, conventional energy system, to control the social, economical and environmental problems have been discussed. The results show that the trends of total emission reduction in different years, which is exponentially increasing after the installation of renewable energy system in remote areas.

Environmental impact of renewable energies

The main aspects of environmental impact (i.e. negative or positive effects onto the characteristics and stability of atmosphere, water resources, soil/subsoil, wildlife, hazardous wastes regime) generated by the production, conversion, distribution and consumption of useful energy (i.e. mechanical work, thermal and/or electric energy) from renewable energy sources (i.e. hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, ocean wave, tidal energy, etc.) were discussed together with the production or consumption demands and facilities to reduce the environment pollution.

Renewable Energy: Environmental Impacts and Economic Benefits for Sustainable Development

International Journal of Engineering Research and, 2019

The inevitable increase in population and the economic development that must occur in many countries have implications for the environment. This is because energy generation processes (e.g., generation of electricity, heating, cooling, or motive force for transportation vehicles and other uses) are harmful and therefore pollutes the ecosystem. Energy is considered to be a key player in the generation of wealth and hence a significant component in economic development. It is central to sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts. It has positive effect on all aspects of development; social, economic, and environmental including livelihoods, access to water, agricultural productivity, health, population levels, education and gender related issues. This makes energy resources extremely significant for every country in the world. In this paper, renewable energy sources, their economic benefits for sustainable development, environmental impact including global warming, advantages and disadvantages and strategies for optimum exploitation for sustainable development are highlighted.

Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Sources: Wind and Solar

There are several sources of renewable energy such as tidal, wave, wind, hydro-electric, geothermal,ocean thermal conversion (OTEC), solar and biofuels. All the renewable energy sources have receivedincreasing attention in such a way that they do not have a fuel cycle in which they are regarded asenvironmentally more favourable. Renewable energy sources introduce environmental impacts of theirown in many ways. The wind and solar energies have the potential to reduce grievous environmentalimpacts caused by conventional energy sources. This study considered positive and negativeenvironmental impacts of wind and solar energies. Wind and solar energies do not generate atmosphericcontaminants. The study provides ways to understand which one of these renewable energy sources havethe highest adverse environmental effects due to their facilities. Conclusively, wind energy facilitieshave adverse environmental impacts which include aesthetic and other impacts on humans and effectson ecosystem...

Introduction and Comparisons of Renewable Energy

2022 6th International Conference on Universal Village (UV)

This paper introduces different resources of renewable energy including biomass, hydroelectricity, tidal, solar, wind and geothermal. The advantages and disadvantages of each renewal energy resource in relation to the environment are compared.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy Sources Utilization

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2021

Renewable energy sources are still not the predominant energy resource in the energy sector, although in certain developed countries they participate in a significant share in electricity generation. It is estimated that world energy consumption from renewable energy sources exceeds 20% at the present and continues to grow. Renewable energy sources appear as an additional source of energy in the conventional electro-industry. The main reason for the increasing investment and exploitation of renewables is certainly environment preservation and environmental aspect of sustainability. This study seeks to expand the existing literature and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of renewable energy sources as a whole. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy sources utilization in general, without considering the individual type of renewables, such as wind or solar energy. Thereby, the paper presents numerous advantages of using renewable energy in the electricity generation, such as environment preservation in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions or improvement of innovations and technical/technological development. There are also presented certain disadvantages of renewables in the production of electricity, such as dependence on weather conditions or low energy efficiency and low ability to produce electricity.

A review on the drawbacks of renewable energy as a promising energy source of the future

A common misconception of renewable energy (RE) is that it could serve as a holistic solution to the problems associated with the disreputable but yet reliable fossil fuel and nuclear energy. Energy supply and related environmental problems, especially global warming could be successfully addressed just by switching from the conventional fossil fuel and nuclear energy to purportedly environmental friendly and sustainable renewable sources. But this credence is proved to be a fallacy as RE sources could not meet the demand of energy that is growing globally without posing certain associated problems to human and the environment. RE supply from domestic wind, hydroelectric dam, solar energy, ground-source heat, and biomass waste was proven to be incapable of meeting energy demand. The scale of demand for these resources combined would be highly colossal and there are bound to be problems in integrating massive amounts of intermittent RE into existing supply systems. This paper will discuss problems-related RE (biomass sources, wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal energy combined) from engineering, environment, health and economy perspective.

Impact of renewable energies – environmental and economic aspects

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 2011

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to provide an immediate image about the reality of the renewable energies as experienced by an Algerian company. Design/methodology/approach-The adopted approach focused on assessment of renewable energies' impact (especially the thermal solar power) on the environment and on the economic aspect of an Algerian company. Findings-The perception of environmental dimension is highlighted by means of an evaluation study supported by the calculation of quantities of CO 2 emitted by two power stations (the new hybrid power station of Hassi R'mel (SPPI) and a conventional one (Sonelgaz)). Research limitations/implications-This research has limitations that the authors plan to study in perspective: assessing the impact of wind systems on the environmental and economic aspects. Practical implications-The analysis of obtained results shows and puts emphasis on the importance of renewable energies, especially thermal solar power, by identifying and evaluating the environmental and economic aspects of the new hybrid power station of Hassi R'mel (SPPI) and a conventional one (Sonelgaz) and by comparing the importance of their atmospheric emissions. Originality/value-The paper shows that this new technology represents in theory a solution for environmental problems and could also be economically competitive with conventional energies if wisely exploited.