As the world’s population rises, so does the demand for energy to power residential, business, and commercial spaces. Expanding innovative energy solutions is key to maintaining sustainable energy levels while protecting the planet from the climate crisis shaping the future of the global economy.
Everyone now scrutinizes an organization’s environmental performance and carbon footprint, from consumers to investors. They prefer partnering with businesses that use environmentally friendly practices and sustainable energy solutions, such as solar, geothermal, biomass, wind, and hydroelectricity.
Amid this, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted that renewable energy sources make up nearly 28% of the world’s electricity currently, with the share projected to reach 33% by 2025. If you want to be part of the change, turnkey renewable energy solutions by CNPS can help you make a difference. Before we look at some benefits to understand the demand for sustainable energy solutions, let’s learn more about each type of renewable energy source in detail.
Solar Energy
Sunlight is one of the most freely available and abundant energy resources on the planet. Fascinatingly, the amount of solar energy that reaches the surface in an hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for an entire year.
Solar technology captures electromagnetic or light radiation from the sun to convert it into energy. Photovoltaic cells on solar panels form an electric field to absorb the sunlight and transfer energy in the form of electric current.
Besides public health benefits, solar energy also helps conserve water, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and supports thousands of jobs in different regions worldwide.
Nuclear Energy
Advocates for nuclear energy contend that it’s a sustainable source that increases energy security, reduces carbon emissions, and decreases dependence on foreign oil. Nuclear fission is used to generate energy from the atomic nuclei through controlled nuclear reactions.
The water in the core is heated by nuclear fission to be pumped into tubes inside the heat exchanger. The tubes then heat a separate water source to turn it into steam, turning it into an electric generator to produce electricity. The core water is cycled back to the reactor to allow it to be heated and repeat the process.
Hydropower Energy
Hydropower is one of the most commercially developed energy sources to date. Large reservoirs can create a controlled water flow to drive a tribune that generates electricity. The reliable energy source enables electricity to be stored for use when demand peaks.
Tidal energy uses tidal current twice a day to drive generators that move turbines. Although the flow is unlike any other hydro energy source, so it’s not constant, it’s still predictable and can therefore compensate for the periods of low tide current.
Retrofitting dams to produce power through hydro energy can offset millions of oil barrels while establishing reservoirs that offer recreational benefits, including boating, swimming, and fishing.
Wind Energy
Wind power can generate power on an extensive scale, with the advocates reiterating its importance by highlighting its benefits. The carbon footprint of onshore and offshore wind power plants is one of the lowest among renewable energy sources. These turbines don’t generate acid rain, smog, or any atmospheric toxins that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions or exacerbate climate change.
Since wind tribunes run round the clock, their energy can be harnessed without disruptions. In addition to flexibility, wind turbines produce more energy than other renewable sources, such as solar energy. Considering that wind energy can be produced domestically easily, it opens job opportunities for thousands of employees while helping reduce the dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Biomass Energy
The energy produced from garbage, biomass energy, is derived from burning animal and plant byproducts. It contributes significantly in terms of sustainability. It can be converted into gas for powering internal combustion engines, steam-generating equipment, and gad-driven turbines.
Since it’s produced from readily available organic material, including manure, garbage, and other waste, the sources are always available in abundance. According to research, biomass is carbon-neutral because burning biomass itself could reduce the garbage amount in landfills by nearly 90%.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal is by far one of the most efficient and cleanest renewable energy solutions available that provide consistent power with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal energy solutions are cost-effective and require no additional fuel source and therefore have a small footprint.
Drilling wells releases the heat from radioactive particles’ slow decay and brings the underground water reservoirs at the planet’s center to the surface. The hydrothermal resource then turns turbines to create electricity.
The extracted steam and water can then be re-injected, making geothermal energy a renewable solution with low emissions. Geothermal energy gets replenished naturally, so it doesn’t run the risk of depleting on a human timescale.
Clean Energy Vs. Renewable Energy: The Prime Differences
Clean energy emits negligible amounts of pollution from radiation, carbon dioxide, and other chemical contaminants. Zero-carbon energy refers to clean energy, whereas sustainable energy refers to resources that can be maintained for the foreseeable future without threatening or compromising future generations.
The emissions from clean energy are minuscule, so they should have minimal to zero impact on the surrounding environment. For instance, solar and wind energy are clean energy solutions as their production emits almost zero pollution. However, fossil fuels cannot be classified as clean energy because they release harmful contaminants into the environment.
Similarly, renewable energy is created through recurrent natural processes, such as the sun shining or the wind blowing. Geothermal, biomass, hydro, and tidal are also great renewable energy sources.
Since some of these categories are time and weather dependent, these aren’t always readily available. However, they’ll naturally and reliably replenish themselves, making them potentially infinite and ideal as an alternative to harmful, scarce resources like fossil fuels that sometimes take millions of years to form.
What About Sustainability?
Not all sustainable energy solutions are renewable, and vice versa. For energy to qualify as sustainable, it must be obtained and distributed efficiently. Therefore, some renewable energy sources, such as biomass, may not technically qualify as sustainable. As a naturally occurring resource, biomass can be categorized as renewable. While it’s auto-replenishing, biofuel emits some greenhouse gases that can potentially impact the environment and future generations negatively.
Benefits of Renewable Energy Solutions
#1- Renewable Energy Solutions are Eco-Friendly
Renewables are considered clean energy because they don’t cause serious environmental pollution. They don’t emit high levels of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases like fossil fuels that significantly contribute to climate change, global warming, and air quality degradation.
Research has shown that fossil fuels also lead to sulfur emissions, increasing acid rains that can destroy buildings. Sustainable energy solutions like wind and solar power dramatically reduce the dependence on fossil fuels as a source of energy, hence, cutting back on environmental degradation or pollution.
#2- Renewable Energy Solutions Aren’t at Risk of Depletion
Sustainability implies these resources won’t deplete over a lifetime. Sources of energy such as fossil fuels are limited and have a strong possibility of running out in the future. The heat emanating from the earth, powerful winds, moving water, and sunshine can guarantee a steady and extensive energy supply to developing nations for many years.
#3- Renewables Reduces Energy Independence
The rising rate of adaption of renewable energy sources can help stabilize energy prices worldwide. Renewable energy highly depends on the initial installation cost of renewable energy technologies, unlike fossil fuels, where prices decrease and increase depending on resource availability, political turmoil, and limited resource availability.
Filename: solar-wind-equipment
#4- Renewable Energy Can Reduce the Turmoil in Energy Prices
Anyone who follows the news would understand the turmoil caused by drastic ups and downs in oil and gas prices in a given period. Renewable energy can help significantly in this regard by stabilizing the global energy market. It’s possible because streamlining renewable energy solutions only demands an initial investment without additional fuels.
In contrast, traditional technologies demand a significant portion of the operational budget for fossil fuels which are subject to inflation. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels allows countries to regulate the prices in the market more smoothly. Besides controlling prices, the switch also helps reduce fossil fuel imports from other countries.
#5- Renewables Never Run Out
Renewable energy is created from resources that replenish themselves naturally, such as biomass, wind, sunlight, underground heat, and water. Renewables utilize natural resources to generate electricity—unlike the mining of gas, oil, or coal, which require extensive networks of pipelines, processing stations, heavy machinery, and transportation,
Moreover, fossil fuels are increasingly becoming more expensive and harder to source. Not to mention the significant financial losses, environmental damage, and destruction of natural habitats caused by these harmful emissions.
#6- Cleaner Water and Air
Electricity generation from burnt fossil fuels does far more than make the climate warmer. It also contaminates the water we drink and the air we breathe. Studies show that coal power stations, for instance, release high volumes of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, both of which are highly potent greenhouse gas emissions. They also emit lead, mercury, particulates, sulfur dioxide, and other dangerous metals that can cause a wide range of health concerns ranging from difficulty breathing to premature death.
Electricity produced by fossil fuels can also contaminate the water bodies from air pollution and waste materials left behind during the production process. In contrast, renewable energy creates no waste, pollution, or contamination risks to water or air. And although the pandemic lockdowns gave us a glimpse of clear skies in otherwise polluted and crowded cities all over the globe, renewable energy holds the potential to make clean air the new normal.
#7- Fewer Maintenance Requirements
Renewable technologies require less overall maintenance than traditional electricity generators that use traditional fuel sources. Offshore and onshore wind power equipment, geothermal energy solutions, solar panels, and wind turbines have fewer or zero moving parts. Plus, they don’t rely on combustible, flammable fuel sources to operate, which leads to lower operating costs. When the infrastructure for harnessing renewable resources is laid down with proactive planning, there’s minimal maintenance required. The facility owners can enjoy huge profits while accessing continuous electricity without any disruptions.
Scope of Innovative Energy Solutions
Wider adoption of innovative energy solutions depends on the efficiency of renewable technologies and the latest trends and practices followed by the oil and gas industry.
However, as we set clear goals and work towards meeting them, keeping the planet’s current state in mind is imperative. If we continue our reliance on fossil fuels, we’ll be forced to implement quick fixes when it’s too late.
If you’re ready to strike while the iron is hot, CNPS is the energy solutions provider that can help you reap the benefits of the clean energy transition.
The high-quality renewable energy solutions include offshore and onshore wind power equipment, geothermal solutions, and non-metallic solutions. Companies can rely on our fiber and fiberglass products, like fiberglass-reinforced pipes and composite pipes, to make their operations more efficient and sustainable.
Besides global energy equipment and services, we also offer electronic equipment solutions like TV and mobile accessories and new material solutions. Oilfield service equipment, EOR technology solutions, cement equipment, oil country tubular goods equipment, mud logging equipment, and a good deal of other oil and gas equipment and services are also part of our holistic suite of services.
Talk to our team to get customized solutions that meet your needs, or schedule a consultation to learn more.
