For each type of Energy Source list one positive and one negative thng about them,(Rest On ADD DETAILS)?

Question

Hydro/ Tidal/ Geothermal/ Active Solar/Passive Solar/ Wind

Answer 1

Hydro:

Pros - A well developed inexpensive technology that lends itself to very large electrical generation.

Cons - limited availability due to need for a large water source with a sufficient altitude drop, most usable sites are developed in the United States, has devastating impact on wild life especially fish and is nearly single handedly responsible for the extinction of selected salmon species.

Tidal:

Pros - A simple technology very similar to Hydro. Inexpensive.

Cons - Very limited availability, energy density is relatively low and therefore impractical except for a hand full of areas worldwide. May have significant negative impact on local fish populations.

Geothermal:

Pros - Well developed and highly reliable technology with very low environmental impact. Could be widely used with deep drilling technology. Has the potential for very large energy production perhaps a very large fraction of total electrical demand. Relatively low cost. Very little exploited and so has vast untapped capacity.

Cons - requires development of deep drilling technology for wide application. Current technology limited to areas with near-surface geothermal activity.

Active Solar: The largest available unexploited capacity of any energy technology renewable or not. Solar including passive solar, is the only energy technology that has the capability of supplying all of our energy requirements for the foreseeable future. Best distribution of usable energy of any source. The most scalable of any energy source. Practical at all scales from milliwatts to gigawatts. The least expensive stand-alone energy source for generation capacities under about 100kW with current technology. Growing extremely fast about 40% per year. Attracting considerable investment capital. Photovoltaic is solid state, no moving parts and therefore very reliable and long lasting approximately 50-year life. PV is retrofitable to most existing homes.

Cons - Does not generate power at night. Expensive compared to existing energy infrastructure. Expense is front loaded requiring considerable capital for installations. Technology requires additional development to compete with conventional power sources, in part because of explicit and hidden subsidies enjoyed by conventional power, for example there is no cost incurred by polluting with conventional power sources.

Passive Solar:

Pros - Virtually free if designed into a structure from the ground up. The lowest environmental impact and least expensive energy source for space heating requirements in most parts of the world. Very scalable from single to multi family dwellings. Can assist with cooling requirements.

Cons - Does not generate power at night. Only suited for space heating requirements. Difficult to impossible to retrofit into pre-existing structures.

Wind:

Pros - One of the least expensive underexploited renewable energy sources. Wind is now economic competitive with conventional power generation. Moderately widely available. Growing very rapidly. Has very large potential to generate power, a significant fraction of US electrical requirements.

Cons - Not available everywhere. Intermittent. Areas of the country with the greatest generation potential do not have adequate electrical distribution infrastructure to transmit potential power to the rest of the country. Some impact on birds. Appearance and notice issue.