UNIVERSITY DJILLALI LIABES SIDI BEL ABBES

FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY
Mechanical engineering department
1 Master Renewable energy

TITLE

Compare btween renewable

energy and gaz

Provided by :
BOUKAR Lahouaria

2020-2021
What are fossil fuels?
Much of the world’s energy is produced by burning fossil fuels such as
oil, coal and gas. These natural resources are formed from the remains
of plants and animals that died millions of years ago. They are used to
power everything from planes to gas cookers.
Burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide gas, which is damaging to the
environment and is making the Earth warmer than it should be. Once
fossil fuels are gone they cannot be replaced, so people are now using
renewable sources of energy.
What is renewable energy?
Renewable energy is a natural source of energy that will never run out.
Wind, the Sun and water are renewable energy sources that can be
used to create electricity.
There are different types of renewable energy:
 Hydropower : moving water helps create electricity by turning
turbines under the sea as the tide moves in and out, or by using
water stored in a dam.
 Solar energy : solar panels collect energy from the Sun to create
electricity.
 Wind energy : wind turns turbines to create electricity.
 Geothermal energy : volcanic activity can be used for heating
water and the steam produced can be used to power generators
and create electricity.
These sources of energy are much cleaner to use than fossil fuels
because they do not produce harmful gases that cause pollution and
climate change.
Fossil fuels vs renewable energy
There are a lot of pros and cons of renewable energy and fossil fuels,
too. Both have a huge impact on the environment, on the energy sector,
on everyday life – and the future of humanity.
Alternative energy will never run out, meanwhile, fossil fuels will. While
fossil fuels will run out in 50 years, renewable energy is here and will
never run out. Ever.
But fossil fuels are very easy to store, which unfortunately cannot be
said of renewable energy sources. Nowadays there are some alternative
energy storage technologies, but they are still in their infancy. They are
not efficient enough – yet. And it is even worse if we think of large-scale
plants.
And although renewables will never run out, they are unfortunately not
available continuously. When the weather is cloudy, solar panels are not
efficient enough. If the wind is not blowing, the wind turbines will not
rotate.
But – most importantly– renewable energy is clean, which means that it
does not pollute the environment. If we want humanity to survive longer
than non-renewable energy sources, then we certainly need to stop
pollution and global warming.
The difference is even greater if we look at the pollution of coal vs solar
energy. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel on Earth, meanwhile, solar
energy is not polluting at all.
However, these arguments do not yet explain why the use of natural gas
is increasing much more than solar energy. Here comes the biggest
difference of all: the price.
Cost of renewable energy vs fossil fuels
Because renewable energy is in its infancy, it is expensive. New, pioneer
technology at first is always expensive, but with its constant spread, it is
becoming cheaper and cheaper.
That happened with natural gas. It is not a new technology, so it is much
more efficient, easier to store, and our distribution system is much more
developed. If we cannot deliver it through international pipelines, we
can liquify it (LNG) to be shipped with tankers.
And most fossil fuels have changed a lot recently because, in the 19th
century, natural gas was primarily used to power lights – in buildings and
on the streets. Today, technology has expanded the uses of natural gas
so much that we can use it for almost anything.
The results? It is much cheaper both for the commercial and residential
sectors than renewable energy.
Nevertheless, the future belongs to alternative energy sources. Fossil
fuels are cheap, easy to store and to ship, but it is bad for the
environment, and eventually will run out.
Conclusion :
can renewable energy sources replace fossil fuels?
Yes, it can – and it should. Fossil fuels will run out, but we have long
decades before it will happen.
Solar and other renewable energy sources are in their infancy, so we will
know a lot more about them by the end of this period, and it will be
much easier, cheaper and much more effective to use them in the
future.
So the question is not “can solar energy replace fossil fuels?”, but when
will solar energy replace fossil fuels?