?Renewable Source of Energy: Why Don’t We Use More?
There’s a lot of talk of the many opportunities available as renewable source of energy, but the question is often asked, why are there more uses of this type of energy seen today? If you look at the United States, it is estimated that only 7 percent of all needed energy comes from renewable sources. That is just a small fraction of the amount energy and that also means that lesser ideal options are being used to generate energy. When you consider a renewable source of energy, you have to look at how applicable it is in the situation and how cost effective it is. In many ways, these are the reasons to little a renewable source of energy is used.
One of the biggest reasons for the low amount of use of any type of renewable source of energy comes in the form of low fossil fuel costs. This was the reason why so many people and companies never sought any other energy options. Why should they when prices for fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and crude oil were so low? This is especially true for natural gas, which has been used readily as the energy option of choice. The problem is that today energy costs are once again rising and that means that a renewable source of energy will be sought by many people looking for a better option.
Another reasons why anyone renewable source of energy is not used more may be because it is not readily feasible in that area. For example, for solar energy to work well, there needs to be a good amount of direct sunlight. In most areas of the country, this would be problematic because there are cloudy days. Or, consider wind power. In order for wind power to be generated there needs to be wind. Some areas of the country, such as the southwest for solar power, are ideally suited for solar power because there is a ready source of sunlight most times. Droughts can also affect the ability to use water power to produce hydro electricity.
So, what does the future hold for any one of these renewable sources of energy? In the long term, most researchers believe that natural gas and oil will become costly enough to push people into using them more so. While there is likely to be growth in any of these as a renewable source of energy over the next three decades, most researchers believe that people will continue to depend on and use non-renewable sources to meet most of the needs they have.
