Renewable Power Source: From Wood to Hydropower & Biomass - Essay Sample

Introduction

The renewable power source is the energy from familiar sources that usually are renewing. Inexhaustible assets are interminable long yet limited in the proportion of energy that is available per unit of time. Wood was used as the aggregate of the nation's energy prerequisites for cooking, warming, and lighting. Since the 1900s till today, non-sustainable power sources such as gas, coal, and oil have been essential energy sources. Hydropower and biomass were the most used renewable sources of energy source to the 1990s ("Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co"). Starting there forward, the segments of the energy in the united states use from solar energy, wind energy, and biofuels have increased.

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The world is rapidly transforming into a worldwide town in light of the extending regular need of vitality by all populaces over the world. Simultaneously, the earth in its structure can't change. The prerequisite for vitality and its related administrations s to satisfy human economic and social new development, government aid, and wellbeing is growing. Using renewable energy source to help diminish ecological change is a superb technique which ought to be reasonable to fulfill vitality need of individuals later on.

The research investigated the opportunities identified with sources of renewable energy, which incorporate economic and social development, the security of energy, energy access, and lessening of health and biological effects. Despite these changes, a few troubles upset the reasonability of renewable energy towards natural relief of change. These troubles include Market dissatisfactions, absence of information, access to rough materials for future inexhaustible resource sending ("Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co"). A couple of measures and procedure propositions which, when considered, would help achieve the goal of a sustainable power source like to reduce emissions, soothe ecological change, and give a spotless state of the earth similarly as ideal vitality for all and individuals later on.

There are several types of renewable sources of energy that are widely used or are being adopted across the world. These forms of energy are incredibly working well due to their advantage of protecting the planet by reducing the usage of non-renewable energy. Some of the examples of renewable energy include solar energy, biomass, wind energy, which is generated by rotating windmills, water, and geothermal energy.

Solar energy is one of the most abundant renewable sources of energy. And this is because the radiation from the sun can take less than one hour to reach the surface of the earth. Besides, the energy from these radiations is more than the energy required by the planet for the whole year (Phebe and Samuel). Even though this form of renewable source of energy is the most abundant, the amount of solar energy used changes based on the geographical location, the season of the year, and the time of the day as well.

Furthermore, wind energy is a source of energy that is being adopted and harnessed across the globe due to its potential. The United Kingdom is embracing the significance of this form of energy. However, it is not reliable anymore due to variations of the wind season. On the other hand, hydropower or water energy is a renewable source of energy, which is more viable in contrast to both wind and solar power. Here, a controlled water flow under a reservoir or barrier is used to drive massive turbines that generate electricity. Among the five renewable sources of energy, biomass energy is my choice. Biomass involves the conversion of domestic industrial and agricultural waste into gas, liquid, and solid fuel. As a result, the energy generated is more economical and has less effect on the environment.

Biomass energy is used globally, but mostly by developed countries. The creation of this kind of power is done by the living organisms or the organisms that had once lived in this world. For instance, the plants are the most biomass source in the world, especially soya and corn. These kinds of plant species may produce energy that can be transformed into electricity or heat energy production. When the plants decompose into an organic matter, biomass is produced. According to Cui 2011, there are more than 227 plants of biomass operating in the United States.

Besides, the United Kingdom has more than 35 biomass plants that are currently operating. Biomass energy is first extracted from the sun, where the plants take in the energy through the process of photosynthesis (Cui, Herui, and Rumei Wu). Water and carbon dioxide are then transformed into carbohydrates by plants. Primarily, biomass is composed of organic municipal or construction waste, residues of crops, sawdust from lumbermills, and logging residues as well. Therefore, biomass energy is abundant, and it is almost everywhere.

Biomass energy depends mainly on the principle of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide must be available. That is why the plants are vital components in the generation of this form of energy.

Figure 1: photosynthesis ("Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co")

The operation of a biomass plant involves the processing of logs of trees into small pieces of wood-the little pieces of wool act as fuel for the biomass digester plant. When the burning of the wood pieces is done, carbon dioxide gas is released (Cui, Herui, and Rumei Wu). The carbon dioxide is released in the same amount to the one that was absorbed by the trees while growing during the times of photosynthesis. The pieces of wood are placed via the conveyor system into the combustion chamber, where burning is done to heat the water in the boiler.

Figure 1: Biomass cycle ("Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co")

Biomass is feasible in applicability compared to other sources of energy. It can be easily harnessed, thus less costly compared to other renewable sources of energy such as wind power or hydropower (Phebe and Samuel). Wind power, for instance, requires windmills that are relatively expansive to purchase. Besides, solar power requires sturdy solar panels to harvest solar radiation from the sun. However, the biomass only requires wood pieces and other materials such as plants, thus relatively cheaper. In biomass production, the wood is burnt to generate the heat energy coupled with electrical power.

Biomass, as a renewable source of energy, has several advantages. First, biomass is reliable, and this is because the harnessing of biomass is simple in contrast to other sources of renewable energy. The raw materials needed to produce biomass energy are always widely available. Wood and other materials, including plants that decompose to produce carbon dioxide to generate biomass, can be accessed quickly ("Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co"). Secondly, biomass is a renewable source of energy; it can be replenished from time to time. For instance, trees and plants, which are the primary sources of this energy, can be regrown. Also, biomass energy is advantageous to other forms of renewable energy like solar because it does not need maintenance. The plants and other living organisms that produce it are in abundance.

Besides, biomass protects the environment by reducing over-relying on fossil fuels by humans. Fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel pollute the environment by releasing large quantities of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere (Phebe and Samuel). The pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere during drilling, transportation, and even usage of fossil fuels. Biogas, on the other hand, only emits the same quantity of carbon dioxide as the one absorbed by the plants and trees during the plant's life cycle into the atmosphere. Besides, biomass reduces versatile as it can be transformed into other forms of energy. For example, it can be used to generate a vehicle's biodiesel.

Even though biomass energy is full of many merits, it also has some disadvantages that come with it. First, biomass generation can lead to deforestation ("Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co"). Cutting trees for biomass production without replenishment and replanting can lead to desertification. Besides, biomass is not completely clean because burning wood emits carbon dioxide and other pollutants to the atmosphere. Therefore, the surrounding environment around the biomass plant is likely to be polluted. And this is where hydropower as the renewable source of energy outshines biomass because it has no emission at all (Phebe and Samuel). Also, biomass requires much space for the running of the biomass plant. Materials needed to be used in biomass plants require much space to be grown. Therefore, biomass is limited in city areas where there is less space. Biomass fuels are not sufficient and efficient. In some circumstances, fossils fuels are added to biofuels or biodiesel for them to be active and dynamic.

According to IEA Bioenergy Countries' Report 2018, Finland in the world-leading country with bioenergy per capita. Bioenergy is commanded by substantial biomass up to 63 GJ/capita in Finland, with a littler job for liquid biofuels and biogas ("IEA Bioenergy Countries' Report - Update 2018"). Sweden comes second according to the report. Ethiopia is ranked as the country that burns the most biomass globally, with 92.9%, followed by DRC Congo with 92.2%. The capability of biomass vitality is there for all to see ("IEA Bioenergy Countries' Report - Update 2018"). It is a carbon unbiased fuel source that offers lower costs than non-renewable energy sources, while likewise being very assorted. In any case, numerous issues are keeping it away from a more extensive reception. Individually, more should be done to settle the question of effectiveness as a fuel, in addition to issues like space and cost should be thought of. By improving the nature of biomass power age, it can even more likely satisfy individuals' needs, which can upgrade individuals' expectations for everyday comforts.

Works Cited

"Biomass Energy Advantages & Disadvantages | Renewable Resources Co." Renewable Resources Coalition, 15 July 2019, www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/biomass-energy-advantages-disadvantages/. Accessed 9 May 2020.

Cui, Herui, and Rumei Wu. "(PDF) Feasibility Analysis of Biomass Power Generation in China." ResearchGate, 31 Dec. 2012, www.researchgate.net/publication/257711252_Feasibility_Analysis_of_Biomass_Power_Generation_in_China. Accessed 9 May 2020.

"IEA Bioenergy Countries' Report - Update 2018." Bioenergy | International Collaboration in Bioenergy, 2018, www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IEA-Bioenergy-Countries-Report-Update-2018-Bioenergy-policies-and-status-of-implementation.pdf. Accessed 9 May 2020.

Phebe and Samuel. An audit of renewable energy sources, manageability issues, and environmental change relief, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311916.2016.1167990