UNDERSTANDING THE SOURCES OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY




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THE BASICS



The desire for energy independence, environmental concerns, volatile fuel costs as well as


government mandates and incentives stimulate increasing interest in non-traditional power sources. There is no consensus on an exact definition of alternative energy (AE). In general, this term refers to the sources different from those in widespread use now. More specifically, it is often defined as "Fuel sources that are other than those derived from fossil fuels". Nuclear fuel is usually also excluded from this list.

AE is often used interchangeably for renewable energy, although this terminology is somewhat misleading: while certain sources of raw energy are replenishable, the materials and components needed to process them may be neither renewable or abundant.
There is a number of alternative energy sources. Most of them can be used in homes, but some- only in power plants. 



The five main AE forms are: Except for probably hydropower, all these sources and particularly solar and wind power can be used in private homes, especially if the house is located in a rural area. For more information see Solar Power for Homes and Wind Generators.

PROS AND CONS



Each source of power generation has pros and cons and has a certain impact on the environment.

AE emit less air pollution than conventional fuels. Utilization of AE reduces US dependence on foreign oil, which would also reduce the flow of money to totalitarian and terrorism-sponsoring regimes of some oil producers. However, our reliance on fuel imports can also be lessen by relaxing restrictions on the drilling that would let us tap our own large oil and gas resources, provided it is done in an environmentally safe way.

The main disadvantages of AE are their higher cost and the difficulties to produce the large quantities of electricity the conventional fuels are able to.

Currently almost half of the electricity produced in US uses coal. The cost of generating electricity from coal is about $0.05 per kilowatt-hour-- lower than that from any other sources. For comparison, the cost to produce utility-scale solar electricity is $0.19/kW-hr. As the result of the reliance on coal, US enjoys one of the lowest electricity rates in the world. The Penn State University study showed that hundreds of billion dollars of household income and 6.8 million U.S. jobs will be attributed to the production, transportation and jobs in energy consuming industries that rely on low-cost electricity. The combustion of coal does produce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming, but these emissions can be captured by using so-called clean coal technologies that are being developed throughout the world. In short, the strategy for developing environmentally clean power should focus on keeping its costs affordable.

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