The Switch to Cleaner Forms of Energy Essay

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The prospect of the switch to cleaner forms of energy is actively discussed by the expert community. There is currently a wide scope of empirical evidence illustrating the benefits of this strategy. In the meantime, it would be unfair to claim that renewable energy concept is completely flawless. One of the key problems related to the implementation of this method resides in unclear cost-effective prospects and unreliable character of the renewable energy resources.

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Thus, for instance, Carson (2013, p. 1) notes that the main disadvantage of renewable energy resides in the fact that its sources are of an intermittent character and situated distantly from the population sites. It means that the implementation of the renewable energy system will essentially require designing new technologies to ensure its delivery. The development of such technologies can turn out to be highly cost-intensive.

Another problem associated with the shift to renewable energy is its cost evaluation. Due to the fact that the resources of renewable energy are not predictable from the standpoint of their potential amount, it is rather problematic to perform a precise assessment of the method’s cost-effectiveness. Therefore, it may be assumed that potential investors might consider the method to be excessively risky and unreliable.

Nevertheless, practice shows that this field is still intensively invested in spite of the unclear revenue prospects that it implies. Hence, for instance, statistics shows that almost thirty billion pounds were invested in the UK renewable energy projects from 2010 to 2013 (The economics of renewable energy, 2015, p. 2).

Speaking about the prospects of renewable energy, it is essential to distinguish different fields to which this method can be applied. Carson (2013, p. 1), for instance, points out that this approach is inapplicable to the electricity supply.

A recent study of the Irish experience shows that Carson’s assumptions are rational. Thence, Connolly, Lund, Mathiesen, and Leahy (2011) come to a conclusion that in terms of electricity, renewable energy is a very demanding and inefficient method. Meanwhile, in other fields, the method works effectively. Thus, for example, Netherlands and Austria keep developing the local renewable heat sectors, while South Africa and Canada contribute to the development of renewable power. These are only a few examples of the countries that have already performed a shift to the renewable energy (Global Status Report, 2016).

The described examples are not the only positive arguments in favor of renewable energy methods. In her article, Painuly (2001) shows that the barriers to the method’s implementation can be cleared on condition that the government designs a consistent and reliable long-term strategy. The author points out that the energy-related information that the expert community currently has is insufficient to give an estimation of the method’s prospects.

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Therefore, it might be concluded that the shift to the clean forms of energy is implicitly beneficial from the ecological standpoint. Meanwhile, from the economic perspective, the renewable energy strategy needs further improvement and elaboration – there are too many strategic gaps that impede the development of this field.

Reference List

Carson, B. (2013) ‘The Economics of Renewable Energy’, in Simkins, B. and Simkins, R. (ed.) Energy Finance and Economics: Analysis and Valuation, Risk Management, and the Future of Energy. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 1–13.

Connolly, D., Lund, H., Mathiesen, B.V. and Leahy, J. (2011) ‘The first step towards a 100% renewable energy-system for Ireland ‘, Applied Energy, 88(1), pp. 502– 507.

Global Status Report (2016)

Painuly, J.P. (2001) ‘Barriers to renewable energy penetration; a framework for analysis ‘, Renewable Energy, 24(1), pp. 73– 89.

The economics of renewable energy (2015) Baltimore, Maryland: Laureate Education.

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IvyPanda. 2020. "The Switch to Cleaner Forms of Energy." August 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-switch-to-cleaner-forms-of-energy/.

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