Renewable Energy!

 In my latest science lesson, we learnt about renewable and non-renewable energy, so I thought I'd pass the information onto you! Starting off with non renewable energy...

The definition of a non-renewable resource is something that forms at a rate much slower than it's consumed, so at one point it will run out. (Also, seeing by the name, when it has been used, it can't be used again). Coal, oil and gas are examples of these, and I'm sure you've heard of them. Along with the obvious disadvantages of using non-renewable energy, such as it takes millions of years to produce the resources that are used to generate electricity and the fact that they produce greenhouse gasses when burned, there are - of course - a few advantages. These include:

• It produces energy on a large scale 
• It is quite a cheap way to generate electricity
• It is a reliable source

Moving onto renewable energy; the definition of this is that it will never ever run out, and can be replaced at the same rate it is produced. There are many, many examples, including more known ones like solar and wind, and things like hydroelectric, geothermic and biomass. The positives of renewable energy are basically the opposite of the negatives of non-renewable energy:

• It will combat climate change by decreasing pollution. While most of the resources create no pollution at all, there are some that creates a bit - but way less than fossil fuels. They also sometimes cause it indirectly, meaning emissions are only created in the making of it and product miles etc, like when solar panels are made in factories.
• It will never run out. Since some sources are from the weather, like solar and wind power, they will never run out. Tidal and hydroelectric, which are to do with water, are similar. 

But, sadly, renewable sources have some cons too:

• It's more expensive and only generates energy on a small scale. 
• Since some of it is to do with weather, it is intermittent. This means it isn't always available. If the tide stays out, it can't turn the turbine to create tidal energy. If the sun doesn't appear out of the clouds, the solar panels won't work. 

You could try to ignore the cons, and say why don't we change all non-renewable sources into renewable ones? Well, did you know, for every nuclear power station you would need 2000 wind turbines to create the same amount of energy. That is a terribly high amount. 

I think I am going to do a part two of this next week, where I will give you examples of renewable sources and describe the pros and cons of each, and how they work. But thank you for reading this week, and come next Sunday for more!

Violet

         xxx