/ADVANTAGES OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES
Advantages of renewable energies
Energy’s importance to everyday life, combined with the difficulties faced in maintaining the current consumption trend in energy generated by traditional sources (fossil fuels), and also the possibilities offered by Nature in this field, have been driving an important change in energy generation in recent years, steering it more towards renewable energies. The challenge today is to commence a transition process towards a more sustainable energy model, less dependent on fossil fuels, without this process having repercussions on social and economic development.
The basic feature of renewable energy is that it has the capacity to be regenerated and, as such, is virtually inexhaustible, besides being environmentally friendly. These are the two major properties that distinguish it from traditional energy sources.
In recent years, these two features have pushed renewable energies to the forefront since, if current fossil fuel consumption rates are maintained, they would only be able to meet our energy needs for a few more decades before running out. The damage to the environment, on the other hand, caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting climate changes, force us to consider alternative energy sources if we want to preserve the planet and guarantee the well-being of future generations.
Solar, wind, wave and hydroelectric power are all forms of renewable energy. All of these have a common origin, besides the fact that the Earth provides an unlimited supply and they are environmentally harmless: they are all related to the sun. Other renewable sources besides the foregoing are biomass, geothermal energy and tidal energy. These sources do not directly depend on the sun.
The sun is directly responsible for solar energy (photovoltaic and thermal). The sun is also behind wind energy, since it causes the pressure differences that give rise to the winds and also wave energy. The sun also contributes to the development of organic matter (biomass) and it is the main agent of the water cycles.
Advantages
The advantages of renewable energy over traditional energy sources are many and are receiving ever greater recognition. Technological progress in recent years has contributed to making renewable energy ever cheaper and efficient in generating electricity.
The main advantages of renewable energies are:
- They are inexhaustible, whereas fossil fuels are limited.
- They have less of an environmental impact than fossil fuel energy sources (coal, oil and gas), since they do not produce carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. They are less of a risk than nuclear energy.
- They provide energy independence to a country, given that their use does not depend on the import of fossil fuels (which only exist in certain regions of the world).
- They allow a country to develop certain areas within its borders.