Fossil Fuel and Wind Power Essay

Submitted By mrsashleydurham
Words: 534
Pages: 3

Alternate energy sources can improve the state of the earth and atmosphere if we were to but it into play in every home; you also never need a refill, of oil, gas, propane. And you never need to pay bills for electricity. The need for these alternate energy sources is that we are killing the earth with the use of fossil fuel. Using alternate energy sources can lead to the end of the burning of these harmful pockets of ancient sunlight. The problem with these alternate energy sources is the initial investment to acquire and install these devices. The first device of the 3 main alternate energy sources is the solar panel, used to acquire solar energy. Solar power is a great choice to reduce a home’s dependency on fossil fuels, it is surprisingly the most affordable of the three main energy devices and also the most flexible as it can be used in almost any terrain as long as the sun can reach it, it will work. A typical home of 1800 sqft would require a 5 kW system. Based on $7-$9 per watt, the initial investment could range from $25,000 - $35,000 dollars the typical term for payback could be 20-30 years. Although the green peace international suggests that costs will reduce as manufacturing costs fall.
The second alternative energy source is hydro electricity. This source can be complicated though seeing as you need to live near a strong steady current of water in order for this way of acquiring power to be affective. It is also the most costly of the three ways. Mostly due to the building of a water mill needed to use this method. Low water levels and drought can negatively energy impact energy generation; the surrounding aquatic ecosystem aquatic ecosystem can be harmed by the building of dams and turbines.
Wind power is an important aspect of alternative energy on a large scale, wind power is extremely affordable. Nearly 15,000 mega watts of wind power could power more than 3 million households. The problem is getting that many homes to change to this source of