Unlike renewable energy, non-renewable energy sources will become depleted. That calls for a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of non-renewable energy and its outlook.
What is a Nonrenewable energy?
Nonrenewable energy comes from sources that will run out or will not be replenished in our lifetimes—or even in many, many lifetimes.
Most nonrenewable energy sources are fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Carbon is the main element in fossil fuels. For this reason, the time period that fossil fuels formed (about 360-300 million years ago) is called the Carboniferous Period.
All fossil fuels formed in a similar way. Hundreds of millions of years ago, even before the dinosaurs, Earth had a different landscape. It was covered with wide, shallow seas and swampy forests.
Plants, algae, and plankton grew in these ancient wetlands. They absorbed sunlight and created energy through photosynthesis. When they died, the organisms drifted to the bottom of the sea or lake. There was energy stored in the plants and animals when they died.
Over time, the dead plants were crushed under the seabed. Rocks and other sediment piled on top of them, creating high heat and pressure underground. In this environment, the plant and animal remains eventually turned into fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum). Today, there are huge underground pockets (called reservoirs) of these nonrenewable sources of energy all over the world.
Advantages Of Non-Renewable Energy
The main advantages of non-renewable energies are that they are abundant and affordable. For example, oil and diesel are still good choices for powering vehicles.
- Non-renewable energy is cost-effective and easier to produce and use.
- Non-renewable resources are high in energy. Resources such as coal and oil tend to provide us with more energy compared to renewable energies such as solar or wind energy.
- There are huge profits to be made from mining coal, selling oil or building natural gas pipelines.
- These resources are easy to use whether at home or anywhere else.
- Consumers can find non-renewable resources at a very affordable price.
- For some people, new machines and other sources of energy cannot replace their traditional minerals like coal and oil. Hence it is also called traditional energy.
- Non-renewable energy is easy to find anywhere. This implies that they can be conveniently transported around the world. People who live in hard-to-reach areas can make use of non-renewable energy.
- Non-renewable resources create jobs. Extraction, transportation, and refining are the parts of non-renewable sources that create jobs.
- Most of the non-renewable sources are also very easy to store.
Disadvantages Of Non-Renewable Energy
While they have a number of advantages, non-renewable resources also have many disadvantages. These include:
- One of the major disadvantages of non-renewable energy is that it is time-consuming. Mining coal, searching for oil, installing oil drills, building oil rigs, installing pipes for extraction, and transporting natural gas are very time-consuming processes. They also require a lot of effort.
- Fossil fuels took millions of years to form in the earth’s crust and cannot be replaced after they have been used.
- Coal and gas also release sulfur dioxide when burned. Sulfur dioxide can cause breathing problems in living things and is also an integral part of acid rain.
- Sources such as coal, oil and natural gas emit a large amount of carbon dioxide when burned. These chemicals quickly destroy the ozone layer.
- When fossil fuels burn, they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They convert the rain into acid rain, which is harmful to both wildlife and humans.
- Many non-renewable sources release smog that envelops buildings and other important items. Most of the time, people in modern cities complain about it. Black smog can make your building and other objects look dark and dirty.
- Sometimes there is a risk that huge cargo ships and oil tankers could crash while transporting oil and spill their contents into the sea or elsewhere. It can be fatal to marine animals and people who come in contact with it.
- In order to keep the power plant running, we have to keep a large amount of fuel on hand every time. This can be expensive and take up a lot of space.
These are some advantages and disadvantages of Non-renewable energy, if you want to learn more about various energy visit out resources given below.