Pros: It is abundant, and can be used without interruption, cleaner than fossil fuel. Cons: Can result in air pollution, takes a lot of energy to produce, can be seasonable and competes with food production. Landfill gas, solid waste energy comes from harnessing the decomposition of organic material.

Natural gas

Environmental and economic benefits of using renewable energy include: Generating energy that produces no greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and reduces some types of air pollution. Diversifying energy supply and reducing dependence on imported fuels.

All energy sources have some impact on our environment. Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources by most measures, including air and water pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss, water use, land use, and global warming emissions.

Summary. The world lacks safe, low-carbon, and cheap large-scale energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Until we scale up those alternatives the world will continue to face the two energy problems of today. The energy problem that receives most attention is the link between energy access and greenhouse gas emissions.

Disadvantages of Renewable Energy

• The Electricity Generation Capacity is Still Not Large Enough.
• Renewable Energy Can be Unreliable.
• Low-efficiency Levels.
• Requires a Huge Upfront Capital Outlay.
• Takes a Lot of Space to Install.
• Expensive Storage Costs.
• Not Always a Commercially-viable Option.
• It Still Generates Pollution.

Ocean energy refers to all forms of renewable energy derived from the sea. There are three main types of ocean technology: wave, tidal and ocean thermal. All forms of energy from the ocean are still at an early stage of commercialisation. Wave energy remains more costly than the other ocean technologies.

There are three basic types that allow us to use ocean for its energy. We can use the waves (wave energy, wave power), ocean tidal power (ocean high and low tides), and we can even use temperature differences in the water to create an energy (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, OTEC).

Ocean waves are converted to electricity with wave energy converter, or WEC, devices. The surface portion moves faster than the submerged part, and the WEC converts that relative motion into electricity.

Ocean thermal energy is used for many applications, including electricity generation. Closed-cycle systems use the ocean’s warm surface water to vaporize a working fluid, which has a low-boiling point, such as ammonia. The vapor expands and turns a turbine. The turbine then activates a generator to produce electricity.

Wave power converts the periodic up-and-down movement of the oceans waves into electricity by placing equipment on the surface of the oceans that captures the energy produced by the wave movement and converts this mechanical energy into electrical power.

We divide our energy use among four economic sectors: residential, commercial, transportation, and industrial. Heating and cooling our homes, lighting office buildings, driving cars and moving freight, and manufacturing the products we rely on in our daily lives are all functions that require energy.

The ocean covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface and has the ability to produce two types of energy: thermal energy from the sun’s heat, and mechanical energy from the waves and tides. Wave power devices extract energy directly from the surface motion of ocean waves or from pressure fluctuations below the surface.

Large-scale wave energy is comparatively more reliable, consistent and potentially cheaper than other forms of energy generation, including wind power.

Ocean waves exert tremendous amounts of power – power which can be utilized as a renewable resource known as wave energy, or tidal energy….Pros and cons of wave energy.

The World Renewable Energy Report estimates the cost of wave energy at an average of 9 cents/kWh and tidal and current an average of 8 cents/kWh. Recent EPRI reports have found that, presently, the cost of power from ocean technologies ranges from 7 cents to 16 cents/kw in a low case scenario.

Reliable Wave energy is a very reliable source of energy. It is because waves are almost always in motion. Although there are ebbs and tides, the average motion always remains.

Kinetic energy, the energy of motion, in waves is tremendous. An average 4-foot, 10-second wave striking a coast puts out more than 35,000 horsepower per mile of coast.

Tidal energy is effective at low tidal speeds, which means that the turbines can turn more slowly, minimizing impacts to local ecosystems. It can be a less costly resource, both in terms of construction and maintenance costs, compared to other renewable energy sources.

The lack of developed supply chains for any one technology means that components are very expensive. Even at plants that are already built, the variability of tidal patterns can lower the efficiency of the turbines, according to a brief from the International Renewable Energy Association.

Some of the disadvantages of tidal energy are:

• High tidal power plant construction costs.
• Negative influence on marine life forms.
• Location limits.
• The variable intensity of sea waves.

Studies show that the operation and maintenance costs are typically less than 0.5% of initial capital costs. The main barrier to investments in tidal power plants compared to wind farms is that of high construction costs. Despite that, tidal power has the lowest cost in terms of operations and maintenance (O&M).

Advantages of Tidal Energy

• Tides are easily predictable.
• Inexpensive to maintain.
• Reliable and renewable source of energy.
• High energy density than other renewable energy forms.
• It produces no greenhouse gases or other waste.

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, tidal energy has no air emissions, such as soot and fine particles, which are related to human cancer, heart and lung damage as well as mental functioning.

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