Renewable Energies: Hydropower Vs. Wind Power

What is renewable energy? By definition, renewable energy is "any naturally occurring, theoretically, inexhaustible source of energy..." (renewable energy, n.d.). As time progresses, the world will need to find ways in utilizing these sources of renewable energy. The reason is "because the so-called traditional fuels present a number of environmental problems-and they are bound to be depleted someday..." (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). "In 2004, renewable energy provided 6 percent of total energy consumption" (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). This is because there are a lot of obstacles that scientists need to get around before the production of renewable energies grows any farther. However, research is still being pursued today. Even though we rely a lot on fossil fuels today it is the renewable energies that have the most room to grow. All together fossil fuels accounted for about 11.2 percent growth of production however, the production of renewable energies has a growth of about 87.6 percent (Science Stats, 2009). This is a huge difference in growth potential between the two. After all, there are many sources of renewable energies that can be found around the Earth's biosphere. If anyone is going to understand the importance of renewable energies that will be discussed here which includes: hydropower and wind power, they would need to know what these sources are, their advantages and disadvantages are, what kind of potential they may have.

Hydropower is one of the kinds of renewable sources that is "the most popular..." (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). It is where energy is created from running or falling water (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). At one point in time people may have believed that dams were going to cause only minimal harm to the surrounding environment, if any at all, and that the dams did not create any air pollution (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Dams were built to harvest this energy source and as of around the year 2006 there were approximately 2,500 out of the 76,000 dams in the United States that create energy (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). "In 2006, hydropower from dams generated about 9 percent of the electricity used in the United States" (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). In addition to the fact that hydropower is a popular renewable source there are some advantages that comes with the use of hydroelectric dams.

The advantage of having generating electricity from dams is that they are not expensive thus, making it more appealing for consumers (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). They can supply a lot of people with the generated electricity. For example, the energy that is generated at the Hoover Dam, which is located in Southern of Nevada, is "on average, about 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year for use in Nevada, Arizona, and California - enough to serve 1.3 million people" (Hoover Dam Power FAQs, 2009). As a matter of fact, for about 10 years, "from 1939 to 1949, Hoover Powerplant was the world's largest hydroelectric installation; today, it is still one of the country's largest" (Hoover Dam Power FAQs, 2009). Even if a hydroelectric dam has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages.

Environmental groups are becoming more alarmed about the negative effects that dams are having on the environment (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). "...The environmental effects of dams, such as, the impact they have in the West on the survival of certain kinds of endangered fish" (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). "Fish, however, are not the only aquatic life harmed by dams. The quality of water downstream from a dam is often unhealthy to all aquatic life because of low dissolved oxygen levels in the water" (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Because of the harmful effects on the ecosystems of rivers there have been several cases where dams either have had to modify their design or the dam had to be decommissioned with or without the owners consent (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). For example in 1997, the Kennebec River in Maine had to be decommissioned because of its negative effects on the environment and this happened without the owners approval (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Another disadvantage of having dams is that even though the thought that hydropower was not going to cause air pollution, this notion may very well be false. Eric Duchemin stated that "everyone thinks hydro is very clean, but this is not the case" (Graham-Rowe, 2005). Eric Duchemin is "a consultant for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" (Graham-Rowe, 2005). Gram-Rowe (2005) said that "hydroelectric dams produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, and in some cases produce more of these greenhouse gases than power plants running on fossil fuels." Another disadvantage includes the possible fate of Lake Mead in Southern Nevada, that is in a serious drought and is losing a lot of water may soon run dry. So does this mean that in some cases hydropower in specific areas is not truly an inexhaustible source? While disadvantages seem to outweigh the advantages, hydropower is still being used throughout the world and may still be used in the future.

What does the future look like for hydropower? It is clear that out of all the other renewable sources hydropower is being used the most. Out of the 6 percent of renewable energy consumption there is about 45 percent of it that is hydropower (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Even then out of the 87.6 percent of growth of production in renewable sources, hydropower has only a 3.1 percent growth rate (Science Stats, 2009). When looking into the future of this type of hydropower, it is still unclear (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). However, even if the true meaning of hydropower is the use of falling or running water to create energy, there is another option that includes the use of estuaries to produce energy. This may also be possible without having to build dams or anything to obstruct the water from flowing. "Veerman and his colleagues at Wetsus...believe they can tap energy locked up in the North Sea's salt water by channeling it, along with fresh water from the Rhine, into a novel kind of battery" (Revilious, 2009). Veerman says that "it's possible to tap this energy without damaging the environment or disrupting the river's busy shipping" (Revilious, 2009). He also says that "with a large enough array of these batteries...the estuary could easily provide over a gigawatt of electricity by a process they've called Blue Energy - enough to supply about 650,000 homes" (Revilious, 2009). With this kind of energy there may be a possible future of some kind of hydropower that does not necessarily need dams. Nonetheless, another type of renewable source that may have more of a certain future is wind power.

Wind power is the form of renewable energy that uses wind to create energy. "Wind is the most promising, most advanced-and perhaps most problematic of the renewable energy sources" (Wald, 2009). It was around the 1990's when the awareness of wind power started in the United States (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). As time goes on more and more wind power turbines are being placed throughout the United States (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Meanwhile, as time goes on the advantages of having wind power turbines are being revealed.

The advantages of using wind power as a renewable energy source is what makes them rather desirable. The price for wind energy is low enough to make it somewhat easier on the consumer's pocket when they try to transition to the use of renewable energy from fossil fuels (Wald, 2009). Wind power also presents the "greatest energy-producing potential" (Wald, 2009). This is because wind could never be depleted. The more wind turbines along with the never ending supply of wind allows more energy to be produced. In addition to the advantages in the production of energy using wind turbines, there are also disadvantages.

One of the minor disadvantages include that wind turbines are considered "an eyesore" to the public (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Another minor disadvantage is the fact that they "may interfere with aerial surveillance radars" (Wald, 2009). Also another disadvantage that could be considered as minor is that the "best sites are not near population centers" (Wald, 2009). It is also an unfortunate disadvantage that the "wind works best at night, when demand is low" (Wald, 2009). Even though these are the minor drawbacks there are a few that are considered to be a little more serious. One of the major problems with having wind turbines is the threat that they pose to both birds and bats (Wald, 2009). Most of the earlier concerns of the birds running into the fast rotating blades is now being resolved with the "new tubular tower designs and slower-turning blades" (Provey, 2009). These are now being used so that the birds can see the blades and avoid flying into them (Provey, 2009). As for the bats the cause of their deaths are entirely different. Provey (2009), stated that"studies show that most of the bat deaths occur because bats' lungs expand dramatically when they fly into low-pressure areas caused by turbine blades. Then the capillaries around the lungs burst, filling the lung sac with blood. Collisions with the blades are less of a concern with bats, thanks to their advanced natural sonar." As of right now scientists have not found a way to resolve the issue with the bats however, they are currently doing tests to find some answers (Provey, 2009). Another serious drawback that the wind turbines have is the noise they may produce (Provey, 2009). This noise or hum that is heard can be the cause of a syndrome that is called Wind Turbine Syndrome (Provey, 2009). The symptoms that come with this syndrome "include migraines, motion sickness, vertigo, anxiety, sensitivity to noise and visual and gastrointestinal sensitivity" (Provey, 2009). These symptoms are caused by "the low-frequency sound that you can't hear" (Provey, 2009). Even though, there are several disadvantages of having wind power, there is a future for the production of wind energy.

The future of producing energy by the help of the wind is looking good. Statistics show that the production of energy using the wind is at 24.1 percent (Science Stats, 2009). "Over 15,000 wind power turbines were in place across the nation in 2001, and this number continues to grow" (Kubasek & Silverman, 2008). Doug Selsam had come up with a very futuristic invention for wind energy. "He has compacted the technology so it can be carried by hand and installed in any backyard" (Wind Energy Takes New Turns, 2008). Doug Selsam started to build samples of his product in 1999 (Wind Energy Takes New Turns, 2008). He names the invention "Sky Serpent" (Wind Energy Takes New Turns, 2008). "He has since sold 20 two-rotor Sky Serpents, each one capable of generating 2,000 watts of power" (Wald, 2009).

Hydropower and wind power are both renewable energies that people are trying to find ways to utilize in the most efficient way. Each one has their own advantages and disadvantages that makes them unique. Also, they both are facing their own destiny. If one or the other is not able to supply what is needed then it could be possible to combine the two. Then we might be able to see the true power that these two elements of the earth together could provide us. In conclusion, neither hydropower nor wind power are perfect solutions to the energy crisis, but maybe together they can become a more efficient renewable energy source.

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