The Non-Renewable and The Renewable

Non-Renewable Power

Today Fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) provide more than 85% of all the energy consumed in the United States, just under two-thirds of our electricity, and most of our transportation fuels. Its also likely that the dependence on fossil fuels will increase over the next two decades even with increased development and use of new renewable and nuclear technologies.

Coal

More than half of the electricity generated in the United States today comes from coal and it will continue to be the predominant fuel used for electric power production for years to come. The low cost and abundance of coal is one of the major reasons for it’s continued use. The environmental objections associated with coal as a fuel are the sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted from the coal-fueled power plants. Today only a third of coal’s available energy is converted to electricity. Future technology could nearly double this efficiency level, reducing the affordability and environmental objections. Current cost is approximately 4.8 – 5.5 Cents/kW-h.

Natural Gas

Currently around 24 percent of the energy consumption of the U.S. comes from natural gas. Natural gas is the fastest growing fuel for electric power generation in the U.S. More than 90 percent of the power plants to be built in the next 20 years will likely be fueled by natural gas. Current cost is approximately 3.9 – 4.4 Cents/kW-h.

Nuclear

Nuclear energy is the United States largest source of emission-free electricity. The 103 U.S. nuclear units supply about 20 percent of the electricity produced in the United States, second only to coal as a fuel source. Current cost is approximately 11.1 – 14.5 Cents/kW-h.

Renewable Energy Consumption in the Nation's Energy Supply, 2008 (DOE)

Renewable Power

Important renewable energy sources are wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen, biomass and hydroelectric.

Solar

Solar is a secure, reliable, and clean energy choice that takes advantage of the clean plentiful energy of the sun. Solar technologies diversify the energy supply, reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuels, improve air quality, and offset greenhouse gas emissions. Examples of solar technologies are photovoltaic cells, concentrating solar power technologies and low temperature solar collectors. Current cost is approximately 15 – 30 Cents/kW-h.

• Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight directly into electricity and are made of semiconductors such as crystalline silicon or various thin-film materials. Photovoltaics can provide tiny amounts of power for watches, large amounts for the electric grid, and everything in between.
• Concentrating solar power technologies use reflective materials to concentrate the sun’s heat energy, which ultimately drives a generator to produce electricity. These technologies include dish/engine systems, parabolic troughs, and central power towers.
• Low-temperature solar collectors also absorb the sun’s heat energy, but the heat is used directly for hot water or space heating for residential, commercial, and industrial facilities.

Wind

Today, wind generates electricity that powers millions of American homes and businesses and is one our nation’s fastest-growing sources of energy. Taking advantage of this abundant domestic resource to generate electricity helps meet America’s growing energy demands while improving our energy security and protecting our environment. Current cost is approximately 4.0 – 6.0 Cents/kW-h.

Geothermal

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It’s clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma. Current cost is approximately 4.5 – 30 Cents/kW-h.

Bioenergy

Bioenergy ranks second to hydropower in renewable U.S. primary energy production and accounts for three percent of the primary energy production in the United States.

The term “biomass” means any plant derived organic matter available on a renewable basis, including dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural food and feed crops, agricultural crop wastes and residues, wood wastes and residues, aquatic plants, animal wastes, municipal wastes, and other waste materials.

Biomass offers America tremendous opportunity to use domestic and sustainable resources to provide its fuel, power, and chemical needs from plants and plant-derived materials (biofuels such as ethanol (from biomass residues as well as grain) and renewable diesel and plastics and chemicals from renewable, biobased materials).

Hydropower

Hydropower (also called hydroelectric power) facilities in the United States can generate enough power to supply 28 million households with electricity, the equivalent of nearly 500 million barrels of oil. The total U.S. hydropower capacity—including pumped storage facilities—is about 95,000 megawatts. Current cost is approximately 5.1 – 11.3 Cents/kW-h.

Acknowledgement is given to the U.S. Department of Energy, for use of this information.