Solar Energy Vs Wind Energy Essay

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When it comes to the topic of investing the government 's money, one controversial issue has been whether or not we are spending it properly. On the one hand, some people will argue that the government should invest more money expanding oil and gas. While others contend developing wind and solar energy would be the smartest way to go. Mark Lewis argues that oil prices could stay so low that is no longer economic to bring in high cost new oil fields. But even if the oil price does rise, it will not be able to compete with a renewable such as solar and wind. 1. Recent studies like these shed new light on wind and solar energy, which previous studies had not addressed.
Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing aspects of renewable energy in the United States. The wind generates electricity by turning the blades of turbines. About 3% of the total electricity in the United States was generated by wind turbines in 2012, which is tantamount to the annual electricity use for about 12 million households. “The amount of electricity generated by wind has increased from about 6 billion kilowatt hours in 2000 to 140 billion kilowatt hours in 2012.” 2. Wind energy is a clean fuel source. It does not pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal or gas. Wind turbines do not produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gasses. It is also very cost effective. Wind power is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available today, costing between four and six cents per kilowatt hour. Controversy, there are some challenges to wind energy.
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Good wind sites are often located in remote locations, far from cities where the electricity is actually needed. Transmission lines must be built to bring the electricity from the wind farm to the city. Turbines may cause noise and pollution. Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to other conventional power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades, visual impacts. The turbine blades may also cause damage to local wildlife. There are some insistences where birds have been kills by flying into the rotors. Yet, most of these problems have been resolved or reduced through technological development or by properly sitting wild plants. Although some forms of solar power have been available for decades, the technology has only recently gained acceptance and attracted the interest of bigger companies. On a per-kilowatt basis, solar power remains expensive compared to conventional sources of energy like coal and natural gas. Nevertheless, its overall cost continues to shrink at a rapid rate. 3. Solar energy has numerous benefits. Besides the fact that it saves millions of dollars for our government, it also helps to slow down and even stop global warming. Global warming threatens the survival of human society, as well as the survival of countless species. After much research, it is said that solar power is now very clearly one of the most important solutions to the global warming crisis. Fossil fuels must be located, excavated and transported before they can be used. These processes are invasive and detrimental to the land through side effects such as erosion. Then the deposit or well is depleted. Whereas, energy from the sun is infinite and

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