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Renewable Energy : Fossil Fuels

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Today, most of our energy comes from burning fossil-fuels such as coal and oil. There some inherent problems in basing the entire world 's energy supply upon that kind of fuel, such as the fact that fossil-fuels are nonrenewable and will eventually run out. Burning fossil-fuels also produces copious amounts of pollution that is both harmful to the Earth and to humans. Although alternative forms of producing energy are not as efficient as nonrenewable methods, they are a lot more stable and reliable. The alternative energy market is also continually growing even though it has not reached anywhere near the levels of the traditional coal and oil indexes. Although there certainly are a lot of benefits to using nonrenewable fossil fuels to …show more content…

According to Sharon Primerano, the Assistant Vice President of the Hartford Insurance agency, “There is sufficient capacity in the market, so even larger [renewable energy] projects should be able to find coverage without much difficulty.” Types of Renewable Energy There are several methods of generating power using renewable sources. One example is generating power from solar cells. Solar cells are able to convert sunlight directly into usable energy by agitating electrons using the heat from the sun. This is called the photovoltaic effect (Types of Renewable). Today, a typical solar panel can convert about 15 percent of sunlight, but when they first started being produced in the 1950s, the average efficiency was only around 4 percent (Types of Renewable). The technology and methods are always advancing and improving. Thin film solar panels use layers of semiconductors only a few millimeters thick, allowing them to be used as roof shingles, tiles, and building facades (Types of Renewable). Apart from using solar panels to generate electricity; they can be used to save energy. Solar water heaters use the sun’s energy to heat water tanks so a house’s main energy grid does not have to. In addition to solar energy, popular methods of energy production are through the use of hydroelectric generators and

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