In analyzing the future of energy in the United States, the state of California will be the city of interest. It is one of the most populated states in the United States of America and as such it is expected to have equally high demand for energy. On the contrary, it has one of the least per-capita energy’s usages. This is attributable to some factors, which the state enjoys. These are mild climatic conditions experienced in the state relative to other parts of the nation, energy supplementation programs to back up the major energy sources that are electricity as well as petroleum. Finally, the presence of proactive laws and regulations concerning energy’s usage has also contributed to the efficient use energy in California (Fehl, 2010). The
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This forms the basis for the presence of one energy source to the other. Petroleum being a major source of energy for California comes with some advantages as well as some economic, social and ecological impacts, which are its demerits. Here is a list of some of the merits of using petroleum as a source of energy:
➢ Crude oil has high energy density, hence when burnt produces relatively high amounts of energy (40MJ)
➢ The extraction of crude oil is less costly since only the initial drilling and machinery costs are incurred. Less physical labor is required as compared to the extraction of coal.
➢ Petroleum and its products are easily manageable due to their liquid or gaseous form, making it possible to transport them to desired places by road or pipelines.
➢ Petroleum as a source of energy has a wide area of application ranging from the transport sector to power motor vehicles, in industries to power industrial machinery, in power plants as well as in homes for cooking and heating …show more content…
This wind power got converted into mechanical power, which used to produce Electricity. “People started using wind power centuries ago with windmills, which pumped water, ground grain, and did other work” (Hunter, 2011). In other words, the wind’s turbine uses the wind to generate electricity.
Advantages of Alternative Energy Sources:
• The main advantage of renewable sources of energy is that they are inexhaustible. This makes them sustainable and reliable now and in the future. Secondly, there are considered to be clean energy, hence using them do not lead to environmental pollution.
• Unlike non-renewable energy power facilities, renewable power facilities require less maintenance leading to low maintenance costs.
• Some economic benefits also arise from the use of renewable energy sources especially if used in less developed areas. This revolve around creating employment for people employed in the power facilities as well as tourism activities sparked generation of renewable energy (Laughton, 2003)
However, these energy sources have some demerits that are listed below:
• One of the main disadvantages is that it is difficult of produce large quantities of renewable energy hence making it unfit for industrial
This forms the basis for the presence of one energy source to the other. Petroleum being a major source of energy for California comes with some advantages as well as some economic, social and ecological impacts, which are its demerits. Here is a list of some of the merits of using petroleum as a source of energy:
➢ Crude oil has high energy density, hence when burnt produces relatively high amounts of energy (40MJ)
➢ The extraction of crude oil is less costly since only the initial drilling and machinery costs are incurred. Less physical labor is required as compared to the extraction of coal.
➢ Petroleum and its products are easily manageable due to their liquid or gaseous form, making it possible to transport them to desired places by road or pipelines.
➢ Petroleum as a source of energy has a wide area of application ranging from the transport sector to power motor vehicles, in industries to power industrial machinery, in power plants as well as in homes for cooking and heating …show more content…
This wind power got converted into mechanical power, which used to produce Electricity. “People started using wind power centuries ago with windmills, which pumped water, ground grain, and did other work” (Hunter, 2011). In other words, the wind’s turbine uses the wind to generate electricity.
Advantages of Alternative Energy Sources:
• The main advantage of renewable sources of energy is that they are inexhaustible. This makes them sustainable and reliable now and in the future. Secondly, there are considered to be clean energy, hence using them do not lead to environmental pollution.
• Unlike non-renewable energy power facilities, renewable power facilities require less maintenance leading to low maintenance costs.
• Some economic benefits also arise from the use of renewable energy sources especially if used in less developed areas. This revolve around creating employment for people employed in the power facilities as well as tourism activities sparked generation of renewable energy (Laughton, 2003)
However, these energy sources have some demerits that are listed below:
• One of the main disadvantages is that it is difficult of produce large quantities of renewable energy hence making it unfit for industrial