Renewable Energy – Wind, Solar, Hydro, Geothermal, Biomass and Tidal

We believe that Renewable Energy should be an important part of our energy future. However, various sources forecast that renewables will provide only 10 – 23% of our total energy needs by 2035. Renewables should be used wherever feasible. Governments should encourage development of all safe forms of energy and work with businesses to set new, technically feasible goals for the energy mix.

The current need for and capability of renewables is shown by some examples:

• China is on a growth path and needs more power. They have chosen an “all of the above” energy strategy, including massive hydro, wind and solar projects.
• In India and Africa, the lack of an energy infrastructure in remote areas is a problem. Solar, wind and batteries can help to bypass diesel generators they currently use for lighting at night.
• In Brazil, sugar cane is used to make ethanol, which is blended with gasoline to reduce the amount of fossil fuel needed. Their massive local agricultural capacity and their extremely efficient agricultural technology for sugarcane cultivation make this possible. The country’s 40-year-old ethanol fuel program is a world leader.
• In Canada, roughly 59% of power generation in 2014 was from hydropower and another 5% from other renewables. 64% in total! [Natural Resources Canada Energy Fact Book 2016 – 2017, p. 95.]

Some negative aspects of renewables are as follows:

• Large windmills and wind farms create noise, endanger birds, change the landscape and may impact some views.
• Solar and wind are not the best sources of consistent or on-demand energy production. Solar and wind depend on the weather, and are not yet supported by large-scale energy storage; so for now, we must still rely on other sources to provide reliable power.
• Solar and wind farm locations may be a challenge for grid capacity in remote locations.
• Biomass-based energy still does put CO2 into the environment.
• Renewables are forecasted to provide only 10 – 23% of our total energy needs by 2035.

We support the Georgia Solar Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association.