1.0 Introduction
The aim of this report to analyse the state of renewable energy and the use of it as the main provider of electricity rather than fossil fuels. An analysis of the costs and advancements in the sector shall be done to view whether it is the smartest choice to switch to renewable energy entirely. The report shall also see how integrating it will affect the world economically and environmentally. Many countries have already started to switch to renewable energy in the past couple of years.
2.0 Background
Prior to the founding of coal in the mid of the 19th century, civilizations relied solely on renewable energy to power different machines; ships for example used wind energy during the reign of the ancient Egyptians (Hirst, 2013). Huge amounts of carbon dioxide gas are being released into the atmosphere on a daily basis due to the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity. This is causing a major health issue and global warming. Thus, need for renewable energy has increased incredibly in the recent years.
There are cleaner, more efficient alternatives for fossil fuel. Renewable energy can be harnessed from the sun creating solar energy for example. It can also be harnessed using wind, rain, geothermal energy, tides and waves (Ellabban, 2014). There is now a high demand for cleaner and more efficient ways of generating electricity. Scientists around the world have noticed how our carbon footprint has affected the environment. The need for change is inevitable and must be done very soon unless the planet can reach an irreversible state of environmental chaos.
There are sceptics when it comes to change. Many governments have shown concern on how inefficient renewable energy is at this state. Although it is a clean source of energy, it is still way behind non-renewables. At today’s cost, it is still way cheaper to use fossil fuels as a main source of generating electricity. Also, since the use of fossil fuels has been common for the past century or so, a lot of research has been carried out concerning its many uses. Nevertheless, dire times calls for desperate measures and the use of renewables has been a change scientists have called for and governments are starting to see its potential.
3.0 Presentation of Options
Many governments have started to review alternatives for fossil fuels. The issue in general is the fact that a lot of countries around the world depend solely on fossil fuels to generate electricity. However, the world is ever changing, the need for renewable energy has been stated clearly in the Paris agreement. Sustainable energy development has been prioritized due to the result of global warming. The Paris agreement has set a goal to decrease the average temperature of the planet to 2 degrees Celsius; this could not be achieved without changing how the energy sector operates (European Commission, 2017).
The Paris agreement has pushed the development of new technologies that can help decrease our carbon footprint. Because of that high demand for solutions, even if the cost of renewable energy is high now, it will not be in the future.
4.0 Presentation of Requirements
4.1 Cost
For the world to shift towards renewable energy, the cost to implement it has to decrease dramatically compared to fossil fuels for countries to consider it as a feasible option. There seems to be progress in this when it comes to lower cost. In 2016, a report carried out by the Guardian has seen that many countries have already started using renewables because of the recent plummeting prices. Countries including Denmark, Egypt, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates began using solar and wind energy as alternatives to fossil fuels.
4.2 Safety
When it comes to safety, there has not been any grieving issues concerning renewables. A drastic change in the energy sector would not occur without governments putting strict regulations before the new technology is used. In addition, a great deal of research is carried to make sure it is up to date when it comes to safety precautions. There have been some concerns about wind turbines being too loud causing sound pollution in areas with a human population. However, this isn’t a major safety issue. In addition, there has been issues associated with the full product life cycle of photovoltaics solar panels.
4.3 Technical feasibility
The technology at hand needs to be capable to take over the non-renewable energy sector and be capable of supplying the same amount of energy. This is one of the main reasons to determine whether this is a feasible option or not. Governments are always willing to supply new companies with as much help to come up with new technologies that serve a greater good. Since renewable energy is a valid option to invest in, governments so far have been helping financially to help research better ways to generate electricity; ways that can be less harmful to the environment. For some countries, the Paris agreement was very important and they are very keen to take actions that can minimise global warming.
5.0 Feasibility option
5.1 Cost
This is one of the most important factors to determine whether this is a feasible option.
Prices have been dropping in a fast pace in recent time. Wind and solar energy for example have been declining rapidly recently. The cost of shifting to renewable energy used to be quite expensive since the market has reached a saturation and dependency on fossil fuels. In 2013, renewable energy only accounted for about 22% of the global generation of electricity. (International Energy Agency, 2017). Economies around the world are so dependent on fossil fuels that shifting to renewable energy used to cost a fortune.
The problem with comparing prices is that there is no set cost. There are many different hidden costs that might not be visible at the moment. For example, the use of fossil fuels is harming the environment and causes global warming. In effect, this triggers natural disasters around the world that can cost world governments billions of dollars in damage. While this cannot be calculated and put on paper, it is still a cost governments must put under consideration.
If we compare the ratio of electricity gained by the amount of money used to generate about 1 MWh, then renewable energy has become cheaper. According to a report done by the Independent, generating solar and wind energy is on par and in some situations cheaper than the use of fossil fuels for the first time in history. About ten years ago, to generate one MWh of electricity using solar energy cost around 600 dollars while it cost around 100 dollars to generate the same amount of electricity using fossil fuels. But now things have changed and prices seem to plummet quickly – today it only costs around 50 dollars to generate the same amount of power using wind power and around 100 dollars through solar energy. That is six times less than what it used to be.
5.2 Safety
As discussed before, a new technology that is being developed has to pass through many regulations to make sure it is reliable and safe. In fact, Global agencies around the world have been carrying research and anticipating any new or emerging risks that can rise in relation to jobs in the renewable energy sector. EU-OSHA has started a foresight study looking at how the jobs in the green sector might likely grow by 2020. The aim of the study is to make sure workers work in a safe environment and to be able to do their jobs in a safe and healthy environment. (EU-OSHA,2017).
However, one of the major issues concerning generating electricity using solar energy is the health and safety hazards that might come from using photovoltaic solar panels. The biggest health and environmental issue comes from the process of creating the solar cells. Hazardous chemicals are used in its manufacturing. Improper disposal of the solar panels at the end of their life span may cause health and safety hazards. The biggest health concern comes from the extraction of the raw materials that are used in building them, especially the mining of crystalline silica. However, the health, safety and environmental concerns for the life cycle phase can be rare and could only happen in minimal and often rare occurrences and even infrequent events. Using effective regulations and enforcement by the manufacturers, any sort of danger that can cause any harm to the safety of the workers, public and the environment can be avoided. Furthermore, the benefits that can be achieved from the photovoltaics solar panels tend to outweigh the risks especially when it is compared to the safety risks and harm that can come to the environment from the use of conventional fossil fuel technologies. According to research carried out at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, when it comes to this specific technology, photovoltaic solar panels generate a much lower level of harmful air emissions (a minimum of at least 89%) per kilowatt-hour(KWh) then the well-established fossil fuel used technologies. (Fthenakis, Kim and Alsema, 2008)
5.3 Technical feasibility
Research and the development of new technology can be a challenge, especially if that technology is supposed to take over another. In this scenario, implementing and integrating renewable energy to takeover non-renewables is a big challenge. Although it is the smarter option on the long run, at the moment it does not have the potential to be the only source of generating electricity. However, it seems like this century might be the end of the use of all fossil fuels. Wind and solar parks are being built at a very fast pace. Globally, electricity generated using renewables has had its capacity raised by 9 per cent from the last year. Solar energy has increased by over 30 per cent. Renewable energy now has accounted for over half the new power generation capacity worldwide for the second year in a row.(Financial times, 2017)
The only problem renewables still face is that even after the surge it has had in the market, fossil fuels still account for over 86 per cent of the energy sector. Fossil fuels is still the main source of electricity that powers households and provides fuel for transportation. A number that has barely changed in the last 25 years or so. (Financial times, 2017).
6.0 conclusion
In the future, we will be witnessing better and more efficient ways of generating renewable energy. At the moment, a lot of countries are already investing and funding many cooperation’s to raise awareness about the importance of changing the way that energy is being generated. By 2030, fossil fuels will still exist. But, by the rate that new technology is being developed the necessity to use petrol, coal and natural gas will decrease dramatically. People will push further to implement different sorts of clean, green friendly ways of producing electricity to avoid the world facing different sorts of natural disasters due to global warming and to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. Although clean energy has yet to achieve its full potential, in the years to come prices will continue dropping and new developments will be made.
7.0 Recommendations
This feasibility report has shown that renewable energy is the future of the energy sector. Research that is carried out and progress is increasing exponentially on a day to day basis. While progress might be slow, renewables is still on its way on becoming the dominant producer of electricity in the energy sector and big companies are starting to find new ways to implement this technology. Although the world might wait a while, eventually it will be the only way of producing electricity.
Originally published 15.10.2019