Sources of Electricity
To create electricity or any other form of energy, a fuel, or source of power, is required. Power is converted from its original form in the fuel to electricity through a variety of technologies. The major fuels that can be used to create electricity are fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewable (or clean) energy sources.
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) were formed millions of years ago by the decomposition of plant and animal remains. Coal was formed under dry conditions while oil was formed under wet conditions. Natural gas was formed when the decomposition occured within an air pocket under the earth, producing a gas instead of a liquid or solid.
These fossil fuels are the main sources of energy used by Americans today. They are used as a fuel source to generate electricity and heat, as well as a fuel source for transportation. Because they have been used extensively for more than 100 years, there is an extensive, efficient infrastructure in place for extracting (via drilling and mining), transporting, processing, and delivering them. Despite recent price hikes, fossil fuels remain relatively inexpensive for consumers
On the other hand, there are considerable drawbacks to fossil fuels, including:
• when burned for fuel, toxic gases and other emissions like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulates are released into the atmosphere, polluting the air and increasing global warming
• oil drilling and transport of oil in the ocean as well as mining, drilling, and transportation on land increases the risk of oil spills and other damaging environmental effects
• the supply of fossil fuels is being depleted and the cost-effective supply may eventually be completely consumed
Nuclear Power
Matter is composed of tiny particles called atoms. When the nucleus of an atom is split (fission) heat and light energy are released. Fission of uranium (a common material used as fuel at a nuclear power plant) occurs in a controlled environment (nuclear reactor) to generate heat. The heat is then used to produce steam that powers turbines and generators to generate electricity.
During fission, radioactive material is generated. This raises safety issues at nuclear power plants and waste disposal sites. In particular:
• although the process of fission takes place in a monitored, controlled environment, there remains a risk of a nuclear accident; even though the risk is small, an accident at a power plant could be catastrophic
• if radioactive material is released into the atmosphere, it can have negative impacts on human health and other living organisms
• currently, hazardous nuclear waste is stored on the site of the power plant, raising health, safety, and environmental concerns
• there remains no agreement on how or where to safely store the radioactive waste for the long term.
When all the costs associated with nuclear power are considered, it is currently considering more expensive than generating electricity from fossil fuels or with many renewable energy technologies.
Renewable Resources
Energy has been harnessed from renewable resources for thousands of years. Wind energy, for example, has been used to sail boat, grind grains, and pump water.
Renewable energy resources include the sun, wind, water (including tidal and wave energy), and biomass (plants and other organic material). The benefits of using renewable energy resources include:
• they are inexhaustible resources
• many of them produce no air emissions
• installations of renewable energy technologies can improve the local economy
• there are security and economic advantages to diversifying the energy supply.
On the other hand, there are significant barriers to increased development of renewable energy technologies:
• in most case, they are more expensive than fossil fuels, in part because some of the costs to society of using fossil fuels (e.g., environmental clean up costs and health care costs) are not included in their price
• until there is greater experience with some of the newer technologies, there will be hesitance in some quarters to use them,
• it can be difficult to site and permit wind turbines and some other renewable technologies.
In addition, some renewable energy technologies, especially those that use the sun and wind, only generate electricity intermittently. As long as they are only providing a modest share of a region's electricity, this does not pose significant problems.
On balance, because of the significant advantages of renewable energy, it needs to be used more and is, in fact, increasingly being used more.