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Hydropower is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels as it does not directly produce carbon dioxide or other atmospheric pollutants and it provides a relatively consistent source of power. Nonetheless, it has economic, sociological, and environmental downsides and requires a sufficiently energetic source of water, such as a river or elevated ...
Large hydropower provides one of the lowest cost options in today's energy market, even compared to fossil fuels and there are no harmful emissions associated with plant operation. [16] However, there are typically low greenhouse gas emissions with reservoirs , and possibly high emissions in the tropics.
Renewable energy sources are even larger than the traditional fossil fuels and in theory can easily supply the world's energy needs. 89 PW [32] of solar power falls on the planet's surface. While it is not possible to capture all, or even most, of this energy, capturing less than 0.02% would be enough to meet the current energy needs.
Fuel comes in three types: Fossil fuel is natural gas, fuel derived from petroleum (LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gas/diesel, fuel oil), or from coal (anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, blast furnace gas). Secondly, there is renewable fuel (biofuel and fuel derived from waste). And lastly, the fuel used for district heating.
Hydro turbines have a start-up time of the order of a few minutes. [37] Although battery power is quicker its capacity is tiny compared to hydro. [2] It takes less than 10 minutes to bring most hydro units from cold start-up to full load; this is quicker than nuclear and almost all fossil fuel power. [38]
Renewable energy is more evenly distributed around the world than fossil fuels, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. [28] It also brings health benefits by reducing air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels. The potential worldwide savings in health care costs have been estimated at trillions of dollars annually.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump offer a clear contrast on whether the energy debate in the US over the next 4 years will revolve around green power or fossil fuels.
Non-renewable power stations are those that run on coal, fuel oils, nuclear fuel, natural gas, oil shale and peat, while renewable power stations run on fuel sources such as biomass, geothermal heat, hydro, solar energy, solar heat, tides and the wind. Only the most significant fuel source is listed for power stations that run on multiple sources.