Coal vs. Renewable
Renewable Energy
Wind Power
To start off with, let’s talk about how much wind power costs. Wind power costs about $59 per megawatt hour, which is 1 million wats of energy used per hour. Wind Power may be efficient when there is a lot of wind, but it is practically useless when it is not a windy day. This makes wind power not very reliable. Compared to coal, wind power is much more expensive to make, and much less reliable, as we can rely on coal for at least another lifetime or 2.
Solar Power
Solar Power is not that expensive, especially considering that it is practically the only energy source that you can produce from your house. Solar power, in the long run, is less expensive than not having a solar system at your home. The price of a solar system ranges from around $9620 to $28,860. Solar power is quite efficient, as solar energy is very powerful. The sun is almost always shining through the day, and even if it may seem like a dark day, the sun’s rays are still coming down to Earth. Not only is it reliable because of that, you can get a certain type of storage, which stores the energy produced during the day that isn’t used, and you can use it during the night. Lastly, we have to compare it to coal. Coal is cheap, but in the long run, solar panels are cheaper. However, it takes around 15-20 years for solar systems to turn into a profit They are both equally reliable, as coal takes millions of years to form, and the sun is also shining half of the time.
Tidal Power
Tidal power is basically using the tide of the water to generate electricity. The tide of the water is how high the water is. Tidal Power uses the tide to push a turbine, which generates electricity, which is odd, considering water and electricity don’t usually work well together. Tidal Power costs about $249 per megawatt hour, so it is extremely expensive. Look at wind power to get a good comparison. I personally do not know much about tidal energy, but it does not look very efficient, because how much can a tide change? This makes it very unreliable, as it is out of our hands. The turbine must not get pushed that much, certainly less than wind power, and that is very bad, especially considering it is way more expensive than wind power. Coal is much MUCH cheaper than tidal energy, and it is much more reliable. Lastly, it is much more efficient, as burning coal actually produces a lot of energy.
Recent Comments