What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Renewable Resources?

Each alternative energy source has its advantages and disadvantages. Here, we’ll take a look at the positives and negatives of renewable resources as a whole.   

We already covered many of the major pros of using renewable energy: We can never deplete these natural resources, they will prolong the lifespan of fossil fuels and create fewer environmental impacts, and will save you money on your utility bills.   

That sounds pretty great already, but there’s more. Renewable energy jobs are on the rise worldwide. China is the clean energy employment leader providing around 4+ million jobs in the industry. However, the United States is also making tremendous growth. Americans working in the wind industry now double that of coal mining, and the solar industry employs more Americans than the U.S. wind industry. 

What Are the Disadvantages of Renewable Energy? 

While each sustainable energy option is unique, there are some prominent areas of concern.  

• Large-scale renewable energy power plants can be expensive, making the upfront investment greater. 
• Wind turbines located within particular habitats and migratory paths pose the threat of potential injury or death to flying birds and bats. However, to put this into perspective, large windows and skyscrapers are equally hazardous.  
• Several renewable resources carry the concern of intermittency, which is a disruption caused by the inconsistency of the resource itself. For example, the wind blows at various speeds, and the sun doesn’t always shine. However, our increased ability to store energy using batteries or even solar PV cells has improved renewable energy reliability. Some batteries have the capacity to store up to 100 megawatts, which is equal to 100,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh). The average U.S. household used around 877 kWh per month in 2019. 
• Wind turbines can be noisy, although most onshore wind farms are in rural, non-residential areas or offshore where the noise isn’t a problem. Newer designs have proven to be much quieter, resulting in fewer noise complaints. 
• If you aren’t in the right climate or region, you may not have access to specific renewable energy resources. For example, if you don’t live near an ocean, you don’t have tidal energy access. Fortunately, there are so many alternative energy resources to choose from that viable options are available everywhere.  
• Hydroelectric power can disrupt waterways and has the potential to negatively affect wildlife by changing migration paths, water levels, and currents. Even so, hydroelectric power is one of our most eco-friendly sources for electricity generation.  
• In some regions around the world, geothermal energy has vulnerability to earthquakes. 
• The large machinery necessary to capture ocean energy can disturb delicate ecosystems, although the process of capturing ocean energy is very clean. 

How Do You Switch To Renewable Energy?  

Most will agree that the benefits of using renewable resources far outweigh the drawbacks, not to mention that improved technology is emerging to regularly address and eliminate the negatives.  

You now know why making the switch to renewable energy is vital to our future. But how can you go about making the change?  Ask about the green energy product and plan options available and get started on your new sustainable lifestyle today.