Solar energy
Benefits:
Sunlight is functionally endless. With the technology to harvest it, there is a limitless supply of solar energy, meaning it could render fossil fuels obsolete. Relying on solar energy rather than fossil fuels also helps us improve public health and environmental conditions.
Current limitations:
Although solar energy will save you money in the long run, generating it tends to involve significant upfront costs and as such is an unrealistic investment for most households. Homeowners also need to have ample sunlight in a location where they can place their solar panels, limiting the practicality of adopting this technology at the consumer level.
Wind energy
Benefits:
The wind is a source of sustainable and clean energy. As long as the wind blows, energy can be sent across the grid. The production of wind energy doesn’t produce carbon dioxide or release any harmful products that can cause environmental degradation or negatively affect human health, such as smog, acid rain, or heat-trapping gases.
Current limitations:
Since wind farms tend to be built in rural or remote areas, they are usually far from the bustling cities where electricity is needed most. Wind energy must be transported via transmission lines, leading to higher costs. And although wind turbines produce very little pollution, some cities oppose them since they dominate skylines and generate noise.
Hydroelectric energy
Benefits:
Hydroelectric power is versatile and can be generated using both large-scale and small-scale infrastructure. It doesn’t generate pollution, and therefore is a much more environmentally friendly energy source compared to oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy.
Current limitations:
Most hydroelectric facilities use more energy than they are able to produce for consumption. Hydroelectric installations also negatively affect water waves and disturb animals that live in the affected habitats.
Geothermal energy
Benefits:
Geothermal energy is not as common as other types of renewable sources, but it has significant energy potential and is naturally replenished.
Current limitations:
It is quite expensive to build geothermal energy infrastructure.
Ocean energy
Benefits:
Unlike other forms of clean energy, wave energy is predictable, so it’s easy to estimate the amount of energy that can be produced. Compared to the sun and the wind, wave energy is much more consistent.
Current limitations:
Harnessing wave energy can disturb many of the ocean’s delicate ecosystems.
Biomass energy
Benefits:
The use of biomass in energy production releases carbon dioxide into the air, but regeneration of plants consumes the same amount of carbon dioxide, which can create a balanced atmosphere.
Current limitations:
Although plants need carbon dioxide to grow, we do not yet have widespread technologies that can use biomass as an energy source in large quantities.