Detailed Outline

I didn't realize that we also had to post this to the blog, so here it is.

Introduction

            The exploitation of clean or renewable energy has been around for many centuries. One of the oldest forms of clean energy was done with a watermill. It was not until the industrial revolution when the burning of fossil fuels became a new way to create energy. Its generally noted that during the industrial revolution and the surrounding 200 years there was an increase of use to non-renewable and unclean energy because they lightened the restrictions that renewable energy inherently has. However, renewable energy is on the rise again since people started to realize that there is not an infinite supply of fossil fuel, but instead a finite supply. There are many different definitions for the terms “clean energy”, in this case the definition that is going be used is thus, any energy obtained from using infinite and sustainable resources. Furthermore, as there are so many ways in creating clean energy, for this paper only three will be assessed and discussed. The three types of clean energy that are going to be reviewed on those two key parameters are: hydropower, solar power, and wind power. The following essay will examine how sustainable technologies and ecological restoration have concrete resource-access advantages. Arriving at a cleaner tomorrow is possible through the assessments of the sustainability (or ease of accessibility), as well as how environmentally friendly the energy is.

Sustainability

            Hydro

            The strategic placement of the hydropower plants is crucial when talking about the sustainability of multiple plants. The installation of small hydropower plants was realized as a result of the natural topographic features which offer the country with plentiful opportunities for hydropower resources. Tanzania has a relatively plentiful hydropower potential as a result of its inland part being at high elevation from sea level and therefore precipitous rivers availability. The total hydropower resource potential is approximated at 38,000 MW equivalent to 190,000 GWh/year. By using this quote here I intend to show the usefulness of using the land efficiently. Since, Tanzania is off the coast of the Indian Ocean, it only gets rain from its elevation but storm rain, which cause rivers to rise and increase the velocity of the current. In increasing the velocity of the stream that is being harnessed to generate electricity will do it faster and more efficiently then a stream with a slower velocity. With all the strategic placements along with extra rainfall that increased velocity of the bodies of water more than two thirds of Tanzania was fueled by a sustainable hydro power source.

With proper management of the land, not only will hydropower be able to increase available clean energy, but it will impact many other sectors as well. “These water resources if sustainably exploited and managed would provide a bright future in terms of hydropower generation and also revenue from economic activities such as tourism and irrigation. A third of the country’s water resources are located in highland areas with precipitation in excess of 1000 mm whereas the other third of the country is semiarid with rainfall of less than 800 mm”. By using this quote here I intend to show the complex relationship that clean energy has on a place, in this case Tanzania. While dividing up the countries water resource based on the uses each body of water can be used for the impact that having a third of the country be water is huge. With it, they can utilize entry and exit points of lakes and large streams for generating hydropower, while with all the rest they can use for tourism, divert some water off for irrigation of large scale farming, and they can attach purification centers where they make the water potable. Due to this phenomenon of the country being a third water, they able to turn into a clean energy profitable sector.

Solar

With any large-scale energy developments, the planning stage for where its going to be placed is highly important to its success. By carefully selecting the locations for production and installation we could improve the sustainability of solar PV power in a spectacular way. For PV modules produced in countries with low-carbon energy grids -- such as France, Norway, Canada or Belgium -- and installed in countries with high insolation and carbon-intensive grids -- such as China, India, the Middle East or Australia -- greenhouse gas emissions can be as low as 6-9 gCO2/kWh of generated electricity. That's 13 to 20 times less CO2 per kWh than solar PV cells manufactured in China and installed in Germany. By using this quote here I intend to prove that solar power as of now is sustainable production wise but when they’re being used to produce power they can quickly become unsustainable. To help the cause in making solar power more sustainable for all counties the vast trade network of electricity needs to be strengthened so, that countries that are more suited towards a certain type of energy source can trade its excess with countries that need more than what can be produced. Furthermore, the planning stage is very crucial for any country that is looking to install large scale solar energy grids. As is shown, a country like, China, would be better off with installing a lot more insulation then country like France. If China installed a solar farm with low insulation, the efficiency across the board would be significantly less. In addition to that, the strategic decision of the orientation of the panels is important since more power would generate if it was in line with the sun going east to west.

Wind

The current steel alloy generation of wind turbines are not sustainable; but as wind harnessing technology advances, they can become sustainable. New wood production technology and design makes it possible to build larger wind turbines almost entirely out of wood again – not just the blades, but also the rest of the structure. This would solve the waste issue and make the manufacturing of wind turbines largely independent of fossil fuels and mined materials. A forest planted in between the wind turbines could provide the wood for the next generation of wind turbines. The current generation of wind turbines are made from materials that are not degradable. However, with this new process of using wood to make turbines as effective as their steel alloy counterparts, they will become the cleanest energy producing source that is known. Implementing this technique will increase the deforestation rate, but that factor can be negated if the trees that are cut down are done so in a smart and effective way. Furthermore, every tree that is cut down to make these biodegradable wind turbine more can be planted; and if its widely known among the population that the government is using it then there will be pressure to reforest the areas that are cut down for cleaner energy.

Environmentally Friendly

            Hydro

The process in which some hydropower is generated is not always entirely clean and healthy for the environment. It has been estimated that China could collect about 2.6 million tonnes of methane from dams to generate extra power – the equivalent of over seven months’ worth of its natural gas imports. These effects have to be balanced against the amount of electricity that hydropower stations generate. Hydro is potentially the cheapest form of power available. Payback times, the most important measure of energy saving schemes, are good, and hydro is ideal for baseload operation. By using this quote here I intend to prove that although hydropower does emit dangerous gasses that pollute the atmosphere, if the correct planning was done the methane will converted and power some if not all the functions of the energy center. If the methods used to turn the produced methane into energy with processes that emit almost no other greenhouse gasses, then hydro power will be a huge player in clean power.

            Solar

Like hydropower the construction and installation of solar panels on a large scale, is quite environmentally friendly, but during use they can produce some greenhouse gasses. Solar PV electricity remains less carbon-intensive than conventional grid electricity, even when solar cells are manufactured in China and installed in countries with relatively low solar insolation. This seems to suggest that solar PV remains a good choice no matter where the panels are produced or installed. However, if we take into account the growth of the industry, the energy and carbon balance can quickly turn negative. That's because at high growth rates, the energy and CO2 savings made by the cumulative installed capacity of solar PV systems can be cancelled out by the energy use and CO2 emissions from the production of new installed capacity. The process in which solar panels are created and installed, there are none to minimal amounts of gasses that have a negative impact on the environment that are produced. However, during the life of solar panel, it does emit a gas call carbon dioxide; but compared to the burning of fossil fuel for the same amount of energy, it is substantially less. Furthermore, a relatively easy way in balancing the CO2 emissions that are emitted is by having a creating nurseries for trees and reforesting near the solar power farms, so that the plants can intake that CO2, use it to grow and all of the processes that a plant needs CO2 for, and then turn that into oxygen.

            Wind

By using this quote here, I intend to prove that although it takes a deal of land to create a wind farm that negates the cost of installation, the land that is given to it is not always destroyed. A survey by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of large wind facilities in the United States found that they use between 30 and 141 acres per megawatt of power output capacity (a typical new utility-scale wind turbine is about 2 megawatts). However, less than 1 acre per megawatt is disturbed permanently and less than 3.5 acres per megawatt are disturbed temporarily during construction [1]. As has been stated on numerous accounts to negate the problems that would make wind farms unsustainable, the planning stage is crucial. While in some cases, there is a need to destroy local flora for the installation process, more than not the flora will recover to a certain extent overtime. However, as there are potentially flammable fluids circulating throughout the wind turbines, there is a small chance that the land outside of the windfarm can be permanently altered; but in similar cases land damaged by forest fires recover with time and at times with a helping hand.

Conclusion

            The chances at arriving to a future where no green house gasses are emitted from the production of renewable resources is slim; but with careful planning and strategic placements of large scale energy farms, the gasses that are emitted will be able to be converted into even more energy. Given that, it is still possible to achieve an energy production that is completely renewable, while having a net zero of pollution. Furthermore, with any renewable energy there will almost always need to have land altered to fit the source; but contrary to popular belief only a small fraction of that altered land will not recover to a certain extent. (Restated Thesis). The crucial step that is needed to ensure that the energy source is more sustainable and environmentally friendly then the burning of fossil fuels is the development stage.