Conserving or even finding a better way to use energy has been a big problem that has plagued us for many years. We humans always want to use more and save more. Renewable energy is a good idea to allow for better usage. “Renewable energy is important because we can have power and electricity all the time,” said 8th grader Saavan Myneni.

There are four different types of renewable energy used in the world today: wind, hydroelectric, solar, and geothermal.

Wind energy uses the wind to generate electrical energy. The usual type of machine involved in this is a wind turbine. The way this works happens when the wind blows the wind turbine blades which causes a generator inside to move and create electricity. The disadvantages for this type of renewable energy source is that the turbines usually cost a lot of money and that when the wind is not blowing, the energy will not be generated and the turbine will be wasted. Most of the time, wind turbines are placed on top of a hill where the wind blows easily, on a plain where the wind also easily blows, or in the ocean.

Hydroelectric uses water to generate energy. The usual type of machine used to generate energy is a dam with turbines inside so that the water can turn the turbines and create electricity. Building a dam is nearly two trillion dollars, according to WWF, this price that it takes to build a dam is not nearly as good as the problems it causes for many in the area who depend on the water for food or just a fresh source of drinking water. Fish in the river usually have to pass by a dam, like salmon, these juvenile fish must either pass through the dam or not at all. But nowadays, people have decided to build fish canals that allow fish to easily bypass the dam. This however is still related to the topic of price. Disadvantages such as the cost of money or the fact that many people are moved to make way for dam construction affects the overall popularity of this type of renewable energy.

Solar generates energy by using sunlight. The usual type of machine used to generate energy is a solar panel. Many people now have solar panels on their roof to generate “clean” energy for their house. Commercially though, there are usually many solar panels set in a field and that follow the sun for better energy production. This is a good idea for renewable energy as this type of energy doesn’t produce waste or take up much space, such as a dam. Although this type of renewable energy has many good aspects, the idea of using the sun’s rays are not very efficient. On cloudy days or at night, the solar panels cannot function, so this is one of its disadvantage. Also, the average price of a solar panel in the United States is about $9,999 to $25,000.

Geothermal energy uses the geothermal water which is hot from the Earth to drive generators to power electricity.  Using heat or steam that quickly evaporates and used to turn generators is seemingly flawless, but this energy source is located in a place that is actively producing seismic waves or earthquakes. From this information, it is shown that geothermal energy is not very safe as a renewable energy source.  Although this flaw is major, there is not much cost for geothermal energy, and it is very important in heating homes.   

Renewable energy is an efficient way for many to use energy wisely. But most of the time, the cost of building the basic tools needed to generate the energy is still very expensive.