The Advantages, Disadvantages and Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Sources

habitats where pumping stations and boreholes are made.Possible radioactive leaks.HEP3 types:Micro-HEPPump storageLarge scale damEnvironmental Advantages Allows for leisure and water recreational facilities.Prevent mass flooding.Reservoirs allow nearby farmers to create irrigation system to grow crops on less fertile land and soil all year round.Don’t contribute to global warming, Acid rain.No emissions of CO2 and Sulpher dioxide.  No risk of radioactivity.Environmental DisadvantagesFlooding of the land causes existing owners to relocate themselves.Greater chance of earthquakes caused by the weight of the dam on the earth’s crust.Less sediment below the dam means less energy is used by the river to transport it, giving the river greater eroding power.Flooding destroys habitats and Ecosystems also during dam construction.High temps allow Microorganisms to grow which Increases the O2 demand causing existing wildlife to be starved of O2.Dams can prevent fish migration patterns upstream to spawn. Decaying plants at the bottom of the reservoir sub merged by flooding release green house gases.Large Dams can cause localized microclimates. Soils downstream don’t get nutrients because fertile silt is deposited upstream.Solar energy3 types:Passive (heating of buildings by sunlight-saves electricity),Photo-voltaic (generating electricity from light)Photo-thermal (heating water from sunlight-saving electricity)PassiveClean energy from insolationReduces electricity consumptionPhoto-voltaicNo emissions No noise pollutionSilica, the substance used to produce photovoltaic cells, is highly abundant in Earth’s crust.Can provide energy in remote locationsPhoto-thermalReduces electricity consumptionPhoto-voltaic:UnreliableOnly effective in sunny climatesNegative visual impact, although this is minimal. Photovoltaic cells now being developed to act as roof tiles.Does not produce huge amounts of electricity.Photo-voltaic:Waste produced during the manufacture of photovoltaic cells is toxicWind PowerNo emissionsReduces dependence on fossil fuels Land use does not conflict with present farming operations (land can still be grazed etc.)Negative visual impactNoise pollutionUnreliable due to changeable wind patterns. Turbines can only work between a small range of wind speeds.Unsafe in strong winds, as the propellers can break. Also flying ice can be a problemOnly efficient in certain areas Can cause an obstruction to birdsBiofuel and BiomassBiofuel is the use of methanol and ethanol which can be produced from crops containing sugar (e.g. sugarcane and maize)Biomass is the production of energy from burning crops (e.g. wood) and natural waste products (e.g. sawdust)Biofuel:1) Ethanol produces less emissions than petrol when burnt (doesn’t produce sulpher or nitrogen)Biomass:2) Provides energy and solves waste disposal problemsEthanol doesn’t produce as much energy as petrolDistillation (used to produce ethanol) creates large volumes of toxic waste known as swill. This would kill fish, plants and algae if it were to leak into the waterways.The burning of biomass and biofuels produces CO2 emissions