Future of Renewable Resources

1. Sowards 1
HaroldSowards
Energy
3/11/15
Future of Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is considered to be sun, wind, water which is also known as tidal, and
geothermal.
The current supply for wind energy is more abundant in some months than in others.
Right now it can provide 6% of the total energy needed and in 2011 about 3,460 turbines were
built in the United States which supplied power to more than 11 million homes and produced
more than 75,000 jobs (Natural Resource Defense Council). There keeps being safer regulations
put in place and more people seem to be more interested in the idea. According to the Natural
Resource Defense Council, it will account for 30% of the power supply in the future due to the
ability to put wind mills in low-wind environments and offshore as well, also new blades seem to
make it more efficient. There still must be a focus on bird and bat safety as they are intrigued by
the flashing lights on top of the windmills that aren’t all offline yet. According to David Jackson
in his report from today, the Obama office is putting their focus on wind energy which in turn
means the Department of Energy is as well, which can see wind costs going down by 37% by the
year 2050 and making savings reach up to $14 billion. This is completely contradictory to the
Natural Resource Defense Council’s report however, mainly because that report is a few years
older, but they say by the year 2020, the Department of Energy will bring down the cost of land
based wind turbines by 18% and off-shore turbines by 63%. Either way it looks like wind supply
is going to be a big part of our future.
According to an article published by Science Daily in 2012, the current demand for wind
energy is about 18 TW and this can be met with the current amount of wind energy being
produced. However, in my opinion, with the supply about to go up to anywhere between 30-35%
in the near future, the demand for this will also go up significantly because more is required of it.

2. Sowards 2
HaroldSowards
Energy
3/11/15
According to energy.gov, the benefits of wind energy is that it provides a clean fuel source with
no atmospheric emissions or air pollution, it is very domestic, is sustainable, is cost effective and
can be built on already existing lands. However they also list the costs of wind energy as the
following, it must compete with already existing energy sources, usually located in remote
locations far from cities, it may not be the most profitable use of the land, noise level, and the
damage to animals such as birds and bats are high.
Another renewable energy is solar energy. The supply of this source of energy is
abundantly clear as it isn’t going away anytime soon. All of our life comes from it and therefore
the supply for the present and the future will be permanently unchanged. However, the demand
for it according to Eric McLamb has steadily increased over the past few years. However,
according to the Institute of Energy Research, it still only accounts for 3/10 of 1% of total energy
distribution in the United States. For it to be able to meet the demand that is currently needed,
there would need to be about 10,000 square miles of solar panels. That doesn’t seem like such a
good idea due to the fact that there really isn’t that much space readily available in the United
States. However, according to McLamb the demand can reach up to 1 million people by 2020
and by 2040 can account for 26% of the total energy consumption globally. The advantages
according to Alternative Energy is: that it is free, inexhaustible, non-polluting, there is a payback
period after a few years, the technology once installed has a 20-30 year life span and there isn’t
much maintenance required. However, they also list some very important disadvantages: the
amount of sunlight varies depending on the season, the time of day, and the location also the
equipment is very expensive at first to install it.
Tidal energy also referred to as water energy is also a renewable source of energy. As
long as the sun and wind is around, so will the tides which helps create an unlimited supply of

3. Sowards 3
HaroldSowards
Energy
3/11/15
tidal energy for the present and the future. I mean 70% of the Earth is covered in water, so that
seems to be a good sign for the supply. The demand for tidal energy right now is very low as not
many people know about it. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in the next
5 to 7 years, ocean currents (which is the least talked about source of tidal energy) will start to be
the big commercial investment. This is mainly because that even if you use 1/100th amount of
energy produced by the currents in the Gulf Stream, you can still power 35% of the state of
Florida’s energy needs. This can become a big deal for companies looking to start producing
cleaner sources of energy while still drawing a profit. However, there seems to be a lot of
disadvantages instead of advantages right now. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, some disadvantages are: caviations, marine growth buildup, reliability is low, high
maintenance cost, and high rates of corrosion, while the EPA says some disadvantages also
include: flooding, storms, precipitation changes, drought, reduced snowpacts and the melting of
snow. According to Ned Haluzan, the advantages include: it is renewable, it will be around as
long as the Sun and the Moon are around, tides are very predictable, no greenhouse gas
emissions, less foreign fuel dependence, energy security, and if dams are made it can protect
certain shallow areas.
Geothermal energy is another great renewable energy source. According to the Union of
Concerned Scientists, the supply of geothermal energy is a lot higher than most non-renewable
sources because you can get the supply multiple times a day and it drops down the nominal
power level to 10% minimum. Also, it is key to note that seismic energy should be included into
this area as well, because when the Earth splits open it releases steam as well and has drastic
energy production rates. The supply for this in the future isn’t going to disappear either as the
Earth’s plates are constantly moving around. However, technology must be improved for it to

4. Sowards 4
HaroldSowards
Energy
3/11/15
continue to grow in production rates. Right now, the demand doesn’t seem like it is that high, but
according to Conserve Energy Future, the demand will continue to go up as the non-renewable
resources start dying out. Also, they list some disadvantages of geothermal energy has being
limited in area, confined underground, high installation costs, can run out of steam, there can be
some dangerous substances released from underground gases, transportation is very difficult, and
that the options are not all fully explored. They also list some of the advantages which include:
cost savings of up to 80% less than fossil fuels, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, no pollution, can
use it directly and it creates a lot of jobs and economic growth.
If my own funds were available, I would probably invest in wind and hydro energy
sources. They seem to be more developed than the other areas and provide more energy in my
opinion than the others. They seem to be more predictable as well which I like to see, because it
means I would have less to worry about in my investment. However, I’d be a little nervous about
my hydro plants when it reaches tornado season, but I’d be incredibly happy about my wind
mills in that situation. They also take up less space than what it looks like the solar and
geothermal sites would take up.
References
Alternative Energy. Solar Energy. Retrieved from:
http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/solar.html
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Ocean current energy. Retrieved from:
http://www.boem.gov/Renewable-Energy-Program/Renewable-Energy-Guide/Ocean-
Current-Energy.aspx

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HaroldSowards
Energy
3/11/15
Carnegie Institution. (2012, September 9). Enough wind to power global energy demand: New
research examines limits, climate consequences. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 12, 2015
from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120909150446.htm
Conserve Energy Future. Geothermal energy. Retrieved from: http://www.conserve-energy-
future.com/GeothermalEnergy.php
Environmental Protection Agency. Climate impacts on energy. Retrieved from:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/energy.html
Haluzan, N. (2012, October 15). Tidal power advantages and disadvantages. Message posted to
http://hydroearth.blogspot.com/2012/10/tidal-power-advantages-and-disadvantages.html
Institute for Energy Research. Encyclopedia entry: Solar. Retrieved from:
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/topics/encyclopedia/solar/
McLamb, E. (2011, September 6). Fossil fuels vs. renewable energy sources. Retrieved from:
http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/06/fossil-fuels-renewable-energy-resources/
Office of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Advantages and challenges of wind energy.
Retrieved from: http://energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy
Jackson, D. (2015, March 12). Report: Wind power could be 35% of supply by 2050. USA
Today. Retrieved from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/12/obama-
wind-power-report-energy-department/70160824/
Natural Resource Defense Council. (2011). Renewable energy for America: Harvesting the
benefits of homegrown, renewable energy. Retrieved from:
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/renewables/wind.asp
Union of Concerned Scientists. (2014, December 22). How geothermal energy works. Retrieved
from: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-
geothermal-energy-works.html#.VQIe0_nF-Y8

6. Sowards 6
HaroldSowards
Energy
3/11/15