Is renewable enrgy really that renewable?

Question

hydroelectric dams require a lot of concrete etc (not to mention flooding vast areas) wind power requires lots of metal and paint etc to create the turbines and Solar panels need lots of glass etc so is it really that much better?

Answer 1

It depends whether each project is a net energy producer or a net energy consumer.

That means, will the device produce more energy in it's lifetime than it cost to build it.

Fortunetly wind turbines, large solar panels and hydro dams are all net energy producers.

Many biofuels are actually net energy users - they use more energy in their production than they save when being burnt.

Answer 2

Yes. Concrete can be reground to make more concrete, metal can be remelted and remade into other things, and glass can be remelted into  other glass objects. All it takes is... energy. Something the sun has in abundance.

Answer 3

Yes, but then think about the greater amount of concrete used for the power stations cooling towers buildings and stuff not to mention the vast amount of metal used in any power station (especially nuclear as they have to have an extensive system to keep running safely) so really if those were taken down and most parts were recycled then you would have practacally as much as you started with.

But there is no replacing the land lost for hydro electric dams

Answer 4

you make a good point but I think in the end the long term benefits would outweigh the resources consumed in building these.

Answer 5

You seem to be asking whether it is Eco friendly rather than renewable. While they may not be totally eco friendly the energy produced will always be renewed by nature.  

The reason that these ways of producing energy are renewable it that the energy is created by nature as in the sun and wind we can use unlimited amounts to create energy and not run out.  We are not taking from the earth but using what occurs naturally in a benevolent way.

Answer 6

small scale hydro (damming your own stream) windo power, log burning all create much much more energy than they take to create, with Dams like the itapu that powera all of brasil that has already save 3 times more co2 than it took to build.

so answer is yes.

Boifuels (fuel from food) is not renewable as it deprives people of food and as much as the world is running out of oil (and to some extent natural gas) its running out of food faster

Answer 7

Of course it is, that's why it's called "Renewable Energy".

Answer 8

of course, crops can be grown year after year to produce energy unlike oil. once oil is used it  is gone. with corn and soybeans they can be produced by americans for americans and support our economy instead of terrorist economies. the processes to produce fuel from them become more and more efficient every year. the talk about fuel vs. food is completely wrong. ethanol is not the driving force behind increased food costs. 125 dollars per barrel oil is the main culprit for increased food prices. if you think it costs a lot to fill up your car to get to work, what do you think it cost a trucker trucking your food to you spends when he fills up with 350 gallons of diesel at 4.50 per gallon.

Answer 9

All the other ways of producing other energies also need metals paint etc such as oil rigs they are made of metal aswll as the digging tools. This is the same with all energies really they all need equipment in order to extract fuels etc.

So there is definately a genuine environmental gain to using renewable energy. It will also never run out like gas etc

Answer 10

nooooooooooo

Answer 11

All energy is technically 'renewable' as energy can not be created or destroyed - only changes its form.

Answer 12

<<Omaria you have just ruined any chances you may have had of receiving best answer - sorry>>

is this to imply that one simply has to agree with you to get a best answer?

hydroelectric dams provide some of the least expensive energy in the nation.  if you simply consider economics, and completely ignore ecology, they are very good.  and, after they are constructed, they create no CO2 or other pollutants.

as for pointing out that solar panels and turbines need to be manufactured, would you rather live downstream from an oil refinery or a wind turbine plant.  for me, it's a no brain-er -- wind turbine plant.

every year, there's a couple of  "Shelter in Place"  warnings from the refinaries around Richmond and Martinez Calif.  BUT, houses are cheaper there than in other areas not too far away.

Answer 13

There is a true renewable energy source. It is fossil fuel because nature has  recycling built in. It is the plant which recycles CO2 into O2 and the plants keep the C which later deteriorates into fossil fuels.