The Production Of Electrical Energy

I have chosen to discuss two prominent and well known forms of renewable energy in Australia are hydropower and solar power.

One of the fastest growing energy sources in the world, wind power is a globally advantageous renewable resource.

With the increasing Australia’s population the demand for reliable energy to support our power needs now and into the future is escalating, with majority of the Australia’s energy depending solely on coal power with concerns arising on whether this is the best option for Australia’s future or focus more on harnessing green renewable energy. This essay will argue that green energy is the best option over coal power, for the world and Australia’s future, such as solar and wind. The biggest challenge though will be finding a way in being able to harness the resources nature provides to support the growing demand.

As a first world country, Australia is one of the main counties that use tons and tons of electricity. 73% of Australian community uses the electricity generated from Coal and 13% of the Australian community uses the electricity produced using natural gas and only the other 14% uses renewable energy sources such as wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy etc. Therefore a majority of Australians use non-renewable energy sources. The total amount of energy used by the Australian community is around 226.9 billion kWh per year. Therefore, 195.134 billion kWH of energy is generated from non-renewable energy and only 31.766 billion kWH of energy is generated by renewable energy in Australia. To produce the total amount of energy

Nowadays, there are two fastest growing sources of renewable energy which are wind and solar that produce intermittent supplies of energy. People tend to demand from energy more than before. Renewable energy in Australia deals with efforts being made in Australia to quantify and expand renewable energy, which includes electricity, transport fuels and thermal energy. Total renewable energy consumption in Australia in 2015 was 346 Joules(PJ), representing 5.9% of Australia's total energy consumption.(2015 Australian Energy Statistics) This is an increase of 1.6% from 2011–12 levels (265 PJ), representing 4.3% of Australia's total energy consumption.(2013 Australian Energy Update) The energy consumption increases is not only due to the rate

The final statistical results displayed that the maximum wind speeds were observed at Tasmania's Macquarie Island weather station (10.2 m/s) and its approximate electricity price ranged from AUD$0.25/kWh to AUD$0.4/kWh whilst, the energy production in Northern Territory proved to be of no possibility in both economics and environment as its energy production made no contribution at all (except for the grid) (GM Shafiullah et al, 2011). Therefore, as Tasmania ranked the highest in all relevant areas, it is concluded this state is the most suitable location for the construction of generation of wind energy (GM Shafiullah et al, 2011).

Global warming is a phenomenon leading to climate change. Human being, particularly the burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of polluted gases. These gases absorb infrared radiation and cover the atmosphere. Increasingly infrared radiation is inside the Earth, which becomes warmer. This process is called global warming (Houghton, 2005). Australia is one of the countries, which is suffering from climate change. The average temperature of Australia has increased by 0.7°C since the past century. Average precipitation northwest regions will increase, while average precipitation in the southwest and southeast in Australia will decline in future decades. Moreover, Australia’s coastlines will suffer from corrosion and flood because it is predictable that there will be an 8–88cm growing global sea level (Preston and Jones, 2006). Owing to climate change, Australia’s biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural habitats are damaged. For example, the habitat of the coral communities and Great Barrier Reefs are disappearing (Preston and Jones, 2006). Owing to the effects and it is an energy crisis in the future, exploring renewable energy source feasible and sustainable development is necessary. Therefore, in the long-term, the potential of wind energy and solar energy could be the answer to global warming in Australia and determine the current barriers to renewable energy in terms of the energy industry and the locations in Australia.

Six different methods for generating electrical energy, coming from electric power generating plants. Fossil fuel, hydroelectric, solar thermal, nuclear, geothermal, and wind power all generate electrical energy, but which is the most environmentally friendly? Electrical energy is the movement of charged particles through a wire, from a power plant to our homes and businesses. Fossil fuel energy is created through a natural process of pressure, heat and time, and used through the decomposition of buried, dead organisms which contain energy. The energy can be separated into coal, oil, and natural gas.

We are facing an energy crisis on Earth. Burning fossil fuels are harming the atmosphere; this global warming and affects produces chemicals that hurt our body. People are starting to think about using alternative energy. Wind power would be our first choice, because it’s clean, inexhaustible and renewable. Today, wind power is mainly used in Europe. We believed wind power would be the main source of alternative energy for world use.

Article: Sue Wright, 2005, Wind power – what you need to know, viewed on August 15, 2011, retrieved from: www.environmentaction.org.au

One of the main contributors of the increasing demand for energy is the fast global economic growth. Other conventional fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas which have been a key source of energy since industrial revolution, are not only facing depletion but they have become a source of concern regarding its serious adverse effect on our environment (Abbassi, Premalatha, Abbassi & Abbassi,2013). Hence, the pursuit to develop renewable and clean energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydro power is energy needed. Wind power is considered as one of the cleanest sources of energy, with mild impacts on the environment, on wildlife and on human life, as far as the production of electricity from modern wind turbines is concerned (Leung &Yang,2011).

With the increasing needs of energy and the decreasing non-renewable resources and the soaring prices of non-renewable resources the world is turning towards renewable energy for the energy crisis solution. One of the leading renewable sources that is overtaking the market is WIND ENERGY. Countries across the world are developing new techniques for increasing the output from wind energy. Few of the leading countries are China, United States, India, United Kingdom, and Germany. Huge wind farms across the world are springing up and helping solve the energy crisis.

During the course of history, this country has been seeking new forms of energy that will provide clean energy and also preserve Earth’s lifespan. The use of renewable and non-renewable resources has been a major controversy throughout history. Renewable energy such as wind power has been a main focus of this issue. Many believe wind energy is the best renewable power source over many others because it is the cleanest and most efficient, whereas, others view wind energy as a time bomb that will soon destroy the planet. Alternative energy sources should replace non-renewable energy with wind energy.

However, New Zealand has been named as one of the least energy efficient countries in the world and therefore, I propose implementing strategies in order to make New Zealand more energy efficient and this will mean that less energy is wasted which will benefit New Zealand’s energy supply. I propose more power stations in North Island as that would reduced line loss as most customers are in North Island so less energy is lost in transmission. Although, 75% of all energy production is already renewable, I propose for at least 90% of New Zealand’s energy to be renewable in the future and this will minimise the effects of fossil fuel generation such as global warming and air pollution. Because of this, I think that the amount of wind power should be increased; we should not build nuclear power plants because uranium waste is a hazard to the environment and fossil fuel electricity use should decrease because it will run out.

The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday. His basic method is still used today: electricity is generated by the movement of a loop of wire, or disc of copper between the poles of a magnet.[1]